It's NOT a pony
by stevieLUVSAlex
Summary: When Castle returns home, and Beckett won't talk to him... he buys her something, something playful and cute... and it's NOT a pony. Some drama with Alexis. And a NEW beginning for Castle and Beckett! DATING and... read to find out more!
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Who doesn't love Castle? Okay, so we have a few… let's say 200 hundred, thousand out there who are waiting for the new episodes to air. Everyone has a different take on how Castle and Beckett will be reunited. I've done that already, a few in fact, and now I thought I'd have some fun with something different… so while it's the beginning of the reunion, it's more about the DOG!_

_I hope I can entertain you enough to tie you over until September… :)_

Over the summer, Castle had wrapped up his book, and the ideas had flowed for a third. Already he was beginning to think that conflict would make the next book a seller, and while his summer had brought angst and loneliness, he was never one to mix business with reality. His emotions stayed out of his writing… most of the time. He couldn't believe how many times he had deleted a chapter and started over.

But he had somehow pushed through, and completed what he needed to have.

He was looking forward to seeing Beckett again. Distance from her, had done more harm than good, he was sure, but at least he hadn't had to sit through the summer watching her play tonsil hokey with the jock detective! No ma'am.

He was almost… nervous, was that what those butterflies were that lined his stomach ready for battle? Yes, that's what it was, nerves! He approached the familiar police station with caution. The last thing he could stand to see was Beckett and Demming locking lips like some raging-hormone teenager.

But when he saw her, she was alone, seated at her desk, where he had pictured her everyday doing what she did best, whether it was playing on the whiteboard with the criminal photos, writing up paperwork, or physically rushing though the streets of New York City to catch the perp.

"Kate…" he greeted with a wide smile. Was it okay to call her Kate, or did she prefer Beckett?

She looked up only briefly enough to shoot him that disapproving look that made him feel like a naughty school boy. Not that he minded much. Maybe, Beckett would have been better to start with….

"Hi," he said trying to pry a word or two from her vocabulary.

She kept her eyes on the paperwork on her desk.

"I am here right?" he teased patting himself down. "I didn't die over the summer and now find myself a ghost figure, walking the room of a police station to haunt those who have made my life just that little bit more difficult," he was rambling, he knew he was rambling, but she wasn't saying a word. She hadn't even uttered a hello.

Finally, she looked up.

She hadn't changed much she was still stunningly beautiful, despite her ability to hold herself at a distance. One day, he thought, he was going to break through that wall and she was going to feel extremely vulnerable… and then, he was going to pounce.

"Hello Detective Beckett, I'm not sure if you remember me, I used to work with you… I don't know… about three months ago. I understand that it's just a long time since then, that my face might be unrecognizable but-"

"Shut up, you smart ass," she retorted.

"Oh," he covered his hand over his mouth mockingly. "She speaks."

Beckett grimaced. "Do you want something?"

"A greeting…"

Beckett folded her arms across her chest, his attention instantly drawn to the Gift that God had given her. "I'm not in the mood, Castle," she warned.

"Okay, I'm serious," he dropped the immaturity and sat in the empty chair at her desk, his eyes moving up to meet hers. Beckett looked like she might very well take her gun out of her side pocket and pull the trigger. "Is everything alright?" he asked suddenly concerned. Had something happened while he was away at the Hamptons? Had she had a hard time?

"Yes, why wouldn't it be?" she challenged.

"I don't know," he pretended to think. "A little thing called A BAD MOOD… do you have your monthlies, Detective."

Beckett's face turned crimson. "Inappropriate, Castle!"

He shrugged. "I understand a girl's hormonal changes, I have a daughter."

"You wouldn't think," she shot back with sarcasm.

"Cold," he stated.

"Do you want something or did you just come back to torment me?" she looked extremely unhappy.

Castle hid his disappointment. Seeing as they'd left on such good terms, she having had admitted she'd had a blast working with him, he assumed that because of that, she'd at least be happy to see him. Apparently he was easy to forget. "I just came by to say hi and let you that I'm back."

"Swell," she replied.

"I'll head off then. Let you get back to work…"

"Fine," she seemed nonchalant about his return.

"I'll see you soon then," he stood from the chair and brushed down his pants.

"Can't wait…" more sarcasm.

Castle made his exit then, feeling rather rejected, his shoulders slumped as he headed for home.

_Okay… if you're interested in seeing where this leads, post a review and tell me you want more, more reviews equals chapters… happy clicking. :)_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: As requested… a view from Beckett's side. Thank you all for the reviews and Alerts, you know who you are. :)_

All night she had replayed the reunion in her head and she continued to come up empty. It wasn't at all how she envisioned it in her head. There was no romantic reunion, no embracing hug or weak moment of locking lips, there was no I miss you's or confessed heartbreak of absence. No ma'am.

As she had watched him cross the room towards her, something had snapped. Anger. Bitterness. Resentment. A summer's worth of agony and regret. Gina… her face had haunted her dreams for three months. Castle's face, his had left her aching over the previous months, leaving her with feelings and emotions she had suppressed since they'd met. Emotions that she had tried so hard to keep buried in a box, hidden by a wall. The years it had taken her to stop anyone from getting in.

But Castle had, somehow he'd broken it down, smashed it beyond repair and left her standing alone, abandoned as she had seemingly put the pieces back together. Lanie knew the truth. She knew the sleepless nights, the tears on her pillow, the flow of junk food she had consumed since Castle had been gone. Miraculously, she hadn't gained weight, her gym work out had helped some, she was sure.

Beckett had finally decided to cut her losses.

She dressed for work. All the while, her intestines were placing ping-pong against the lining of her stomach. By the time she got to work, her head was spinning. She threw herself into paperwork, a never-ending stack of case files that she had been grateful for over the summer, it was what had kept her sane.

She knew when he arrived at the precinct, because Ryan and Esposito had kicked up a fuss when he walked in, babbling about missing the contacts he brought to the table, it hadn't been as easy to make connections without his name, and they didn't get through to the mayor.

"How's Beckett been over the summer?" she heard him ask the boys. She held her breath as she listened intently.

There seemed to be a life-long pause.

Ryan was the one to answer. "She's been busy," he answered loyally.

_Good, Ryan, I won't kill you today._

"She's had it tough man," Esposito continued. _Esposito, one more word from you, and I'll click the safety off my loaded gun_. "If you mess with her, you'll answer to us. It's good having you back and all, but we gotta protect the girl, you know."

_Thanks Esposito, but I'm perfectly capable for looking out for myself._

"Why would I mess with her?" Castle asked sounding deathly confused.

_Because that's what you do._

"All I'm saying is, don't make more trouble for her. She'd been through enough. Lay low for a while and don't be…" _don't be what?_ "Basically, don't be you!" he warned.

_Yeah, like castle can pull that one off._

Beckett was ready to cock her gun. Her hands shook. A moment later Castle strode into the room, that same air of cockiness and confidence had, that made her want to slap him.

"What's up, Beckett?" he sounded almost sincere. She could tell it was forced, but she appreciated the effort.

_Don't let him know how much he affects you, _she warned herself. "Hello, Castle."

"How was your summer?"

"Good," she liked. She wasn't going to tell him about the sleepless nights and months of regret. The secret was hers, the one that would have told the world how many times she picked up the phone and dialed information. How many times she contemplated calling the Hamptons and finding an excuse to talk to him, but she hadn't come up with anything. No cases had presented themselves that she couldn't solve on her own, they were simply black and white and she was far too depressed to make one up.

"Listen, I have to take off… I don't want to bug you, so I'll let you get back to work. I'll call you soon," he promised.

Beckett felt a stab of disappointment, but she still had her pride, the only thing he hadn't managed to destroy and she wasn't about to give it up without a fight. Not yet. She wasn't ready.

"Okay," she answered avoiding his eyes.

He turned then and left her alone.

_I had to set up the story slightly. But the next chapter will involve the cute, cuddly and havoc-wrecking gift that Castle gives Beckett… I just need some reviews to post it. Happy clicking :)_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thank you all for your awesome reviews and alerts, here's the next chapter. Enjoy :) _

Despite her _hello_, something was off, with Beckett. Determined to make things better, whatever had caused her to resort back to the hard-core woman he had broken down over time; he was going to bring her back. The woman who had told him she was glad he was around, that he made her work more fun. The woman that smelt like cherries…

He was pacing the loungeroom of his New York apartment when his mother came in.

"What's with the antsy pants?" she asked instantly in tune with her son.

Castle played dumb. "Just thinking about my book," he lied.

"Hogs wash, Richard. A mother knows the difference between imagination and emotion… go ahead I'm listening," she perched herself on the stool at the kitchen and put her chin in her hands. She had such elegance about her, an air of confidence that gave her the star quality to make it in Broadway.

Castle rolled his eyes. "It's Beckett."

"Of course it is, what about her?"

"She's been… distant since I came back and-"

"She isn't exactly an open book darling. The girl needs time. Patience. Let her know that you're back, in a subtle way…"

Castle thought about it. "I don't DO subtle, mom."

Martha seemed to think about that. "That's true. You really are serious, no sarcasm, so jokes, you seem… sad."

Castle shrugged. "I just missed her over the summer, I don't know, it sounds dumb, but- but I thought she'd at least be happy to see me, you know."

"Maybe you should buy her a gift," she suggested excitedly. "Yes, that sounds like a good idea, a gift would be the perfect thing to make her feel wanted… gifts are always good for a woman," his mother rambled.

"Gifts?" he questioned.

"Yes, darling, presents, jewels," she grinned making a grand gesture of a necklace.

Castle pondered over the idea. A light bulb seems to flash in his mind. "A dog!" he announced.

"A- a what?" Martha choked.

"It's perfect, they are adorably cuddly, and she would go wild with a puppy under her feet, she'd mellow some and she'd never be lonely, no one would break in with a barking dog, and who knows," he said with a smirk. "She might not even need Demming after that…"

"Darling, I don't think that-"

Castle shook his head ignoring his mother. The idea was marvelous. Yes, a dog! He was going to the pound and picking her up a dog… the K-9 would need a home, and once Beckett took one look at the animal she'd be sitting in the palm of his hand. No more moody Beckett. She was sure to cheer up.

_Hahahahaha… I know some of you guessed that, but can you imagine the look on her face. Can you imagine what it's going to be like for her to get this, and… OMG! This is so fun. Reviews equal chapters, you know the rules… :)_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: The next chapter… thanks guys for all the reviews. :)_

Beckett had finished cleaning her apartment when she heard a knock at the door. It was Sunday morning, the only time that Beckett had a chance to clean anything. She worked 24/7 and barely had a chance to clean herself, let alone her apartment. But she had taken a routine up to clean up her home, so that when she came back after a long day, she could rest her feet and switch the TV on, or if the day was longer, a Richard Castle book and a hot bath.

She made her way to the door, and pulled it open, with a disapproved expression.

Castle was on the other end, instantly making her stomach flutter, despite her want to stop it. It made her feel uncontrolled and she didn't like that at all. Kate Beckett was one who needed independence and the upper-hand. She needed to know that she was the one in control; she needed to feel like the Queen in the colony of ants.

"What are you doing here, Castle?" she asked in that disapproving tone of hers.

He seemed unbothered, the wide smile still plastered evidently across his face.

She noticed a box in his arms, movement in the box made her jump back.

"Is there something alive in there?" she demanded.

"A gift…" he grinned.

"For a homeless person?" she said sarcastically, and wishful thinking.

"For you…"

_Of course it was. _

"Castle," she warned.

"Open it, you'll love it," He shoved the box in her arms as she tried her best not to drop it. She made her way to the kitchen bench and placed the box on top with caution. She heard starching. Something live! A rabbit… Rats… anything was possible with Castle.

"What is it?" she asked turning to him, he shrugged childishly and gestured to the box.

She was suspicious of the contents in the box, and cautiously lifted the lid. She jumped back when the small head popped itself out of the box.

"A- a- do- dog?" she stammered. "You brought me a dog?"

"YES!" he screamed excitedly. "It's gonna be GREAT! He's so cute…" he snatched the golden retriever puppy from the box and cuddled him. He nuzzled castle's neck as he covered the dog in kisses.

"If you like it so much, you keep it," she offered.

Beckett was a working girl, how on earth did Castle expect her to take care of a dog. It was a responsibility. It meant cleaning up after it, it meant being home to feed it and walk it, and make sure it got the right training. A dog meant patience, patience that Beckett, as a working girl, didn't have. What had he been thinking?

"You do this ALL the time!" she snapped. "You make a decision without thinking. Castle, I CAN NOT have a dog. I work TOO much. I am NEVER home, how on earth am I supposed to look after it?"

"Look at him…" Castle pouted. "How can you say no to this face?"

She glared at him. "Castle…" she warned.

He stepped back, seeing the unwanted expression on her face.

"I can't take him back, he loves you…" Castle raised the puppy in front of his face and it leaned over to lick Beckett's cheek. She pulled a face as the wetness of its tongue glued to her skin. Not that she'd dare admit it but she had always wanted a dog… knowing she worked hard, she never took the time to look for an animal to take care of as her own. She had always stopped as she walked home, patting someone else's pet, when it seemed friendly and playful. But this was different. This was HER responsibility. It would mean change, and a lot of it.

"I hate you, Castle…" she muttered snatching the dog from him.

He grinned looking pleased. "I knew you'd love it," he said with joy.

"OUT!" she ordered gesturing to the door.

Castle pouted but got the picture.

"I've paid for it all, the registration and all, immunizations have been taken care of…" he said as she pushed him out the door. "It's all in the bottom of the box."

"Thank you," she muttered. "Goodnight."

She slammed the door behind her.

"He's insane," she told the dog. "Right?" the dog licked her face. "Yeah, I knew you'd be on my side," she smiled.

_I have some good stuff coming up… so I hope you like it. Update coming soon… to a FANFIC page near you :)_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Next chapter up… I thought that I'd give a little drama to Alexis because I think she's really fun and cute when communicating with daddy… :)_

Castle was just coming through the door when he heard crying. He stopped to listen. It was coming from upstairs, from Alexis' room. His heart gave a little tug, and he leisurely made his way up stairs, each step caused the sobbing to become louder.

He reached his daughter's room and tapped lightly on the door's edge. The sobbing stopped instantaneously.

"Yes…" Alexis' voice was strained.

"Can I come in honey?" Castle had always respected her privacy, to the point of driving himself insane.

There was a long pause.

"Yes," she answered.

Castle pushed open the door. He approached the bed to discover her eyes were blood shot, the traces of her tears had been wiped away, but he knew she'd been crying.

He positioned himself on the edge of the bed he took her hand in his own, and gave her an award winning smile.

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

Alexis' shook her head unwilling to give out information.

"Come on, tell your old man… I might be able to help."

"You can't," she sniffed. "You can't help me this time, dad." She buried her head in her hands and began to cry again, making Castle feel useless. He wanted to stop her tears. Stop the pain. But she didn't tell him anything, and so he didn't know what to do to help her.

"I could surprise you," he shrugged.

Alexis shook her head. "No dad."

Castle nodded feeling another tug at his heart. It hurt him that she was hurting, and that he couldn't do anything about it. But he respected her. He kissed her lightly on the forehead and stood from the bed.

"If you think of ANYHTHING," he stressed. "Let me know, angel."

"Thanks, dad…"

He closed the door behind him and went to the freezer to get himself some ice-cream, his one vice that saved him from "unended" situations.

All night he had lain awake, tossing and turning occasionally in an attempt to get comfortable. In his mind he had tried to come up with reasons that Alexis would be sad. A broken relationship… a failed test… THE mother… but none of them seemed big enough to him that she would fail to share it with her father. The next time he went into Alexis' room, she was out of the house. He felt guilty for doing it, every step further he took into her room, into her private world gripped him with another knot in his stomach. But NOT knowing seemed worse. If he knew what it was, what was hurting her, then he could- he WOULD find a way to make it better.

At first he thought he'd never find anything. He ransacked all her drawers, her cupboards; he even resorted to looking under her bed. But he found nothing of substance, nothing that told him what he didn't already know. He was beginning to think that she was just having a "woman" day.

Defeated he began to make his way out. It was only from the corner of his eye, that he saw the word that made his heart stop beating. He back tracked and removed the tissues that lay on top of the box that was trying to be concealed. He shook his head, unable to believe the evidence before him. She was smarter than that, she was a good girl, she had always left him without worrying… this couldn't be happening.

Yes, he told himself, it was what he didn't want it to be.

A POSTITIVE PREGNACY TEST!

_YAY! More to come… sorry about the cliff-hanger… okay, I'm not sorry. It's what I do. Maybe in exchange for the next update, I'll get some reviews… Ms. Evil loves her games :)_

_Ps. The idea came from Tootapanga, so thanks for that honey…_


	6. Chapter 6

_Hi guys… next chapter is ready to go… I wanted to break it into pieces so PLEASE be patient with me, and I'll try not to disappoint you :)_

All night the puppy had been a hassle; it had whined, chewed pieces of her rare and sentimental furniture and urinated all over her loungeroom rug. It reminded her of someone… a nine year old on a sugar-rush mixed with a stubborn, cocky criminal. She had already picked a name for him that seemed to fit his personality.

_Malcolm Reynolds!_

Beckett hadn't slept too well having had attended to the K-9 for the last 12 hours. She was tired. Irritated. She wanted to throw Castle through a 10 story window, just to see if he could fly, because he had been insane enough to give her the damn dog in the first place. Instead, she called a dog kennel, asking if they provided "doggy daycare" the man on the other end gave her a number to call, and by the time she left for work she had managed to find a place that took animals during a 9 to 5 work day. Beckett took Malcolm to the kennel and negotiated a time to drop off and collect the dog on her way to and from work.

She wasn't sure what she wanted to do yet, she couldn't keep him, her hours were long, and her patience was thin. She just needed time to sort through the possibilities for re-homing him. In the meantime, it was her responsibility to make sure it was safe and sheltered while she was busy catching criminals.

Once Beckett had a moment for personal conversation, she raised the subject with Castle.

"How was your first night with the beautiful four-legged beauty?" he asked.

"Horrible!" she snapped. "Why did you buy me the damn dog anyway, Castle?"

"Think of it as an early wedding gift?" he shrugged. Beckett frowned. "For you and Demming…"

She held herself well; she'd forgotten to tell him that she and Demming had been history for some time.

"In that case, where do I return to sender?"

"Why would you do that?" he asked.

"There is no wedding!"

"There could be…"

"No."

"Later on-"

"NO, Castle!" she barked.

"How do you know, you might feel-"

"We're not together!" she blurted. For an intelligent writer, he wasn't all that smart at times.

Castle stood stunned for a moment, and a look of relief washed over his face… that was relief, wasn't it? "Since when?"

"Does it matter," she answered.

"No. I'm sorry…"

"Thanks."

"Was it a joint decision?" he questioned.

She rolled her eyes. "It's none of your business!"

He was hurt. It stung, like a quick paper cut, she could see the pained expression on his face, and just as quickly it became poker. "Just curious… so did you pick a name for the dog?"

"Yeah, Malcolm, after that annoying Captain from that stupid cowboy Western sci-fi series. What was it called?"

"Firefly!" his eyes lit up at the mention of his favorite TV show.

"Yeah that's the one… stupid show."

"I LOVED that show… that guy was so totally awesome."

She rolled her eyes, pretending that show truly bothered her. "Meh, the guy wasn't bad eye candy."

"Yeah…" he seemed to be pleased with that. His face dropped and he turned serious. "Can I ask you something?"

"Is it personal?"

"Not for you," he said.

Beckett waited.

"I- I think I did something stupid…"

_You know me… CLIFF-HANGER! I love them SO much. :)_

_Review if you want more…._


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: hey guys SO sorry for the long delay on this. Hope you like it :)_

"Since when does that bother you," Beckett replied teasingly. He had broached the subject of something serious and she had taken it as a reason to laugh at him. Not that he blamed her he struggled to remain serious most of the time. "You are _always_ doing something stupid!"

"This time, it involves Alexis," he confessed.

She had his attention.

"Go ahead…" she urged.

"I caught Alexis crying, she'd been in her room, and when I asked her what was wrong she didn't say. It made me crazy… not because she had a secret, but because I couldn't help her. I didn't know what it was, and she wouldn't tell me."

"Kids get like that, it's the nature of growing up," she assured him.

"I know," he nodded running a hand through his hair. "But when she was out of the house, I went into her room. I didn't even know what the hell I was looking for, except some evidence of why she was so depressed."

"You ransacked her room?" Beckett snapped. "CASTLE! It's an invasion of her privacy. No matter what she does or doesn't tell you, the LAST thing you do is go through her personal property. It's a reason NOT to trust you."

"I know," he looked at his feet as the shame washed over his face. "I felt like a real jerk…"

"You ARE a real jerk," she insisted.

Castle nodded. "The thing is… I found something."

"I don't want to know!" she held out her hand as a defense. "I want NO part in this, Castle. I like Alexis and she seems to trust me, I don't want her finding out I knew things that she didn't want to share. Keep it to yourself. I don't want to hear it," she turned to walk away, but he seized her arm. He was desperate. His baby girl was pregnant and he needed help. He couldn't talk to his mother. Not about this, and none of his one-night-stands would be of any use. His ex-wife, Meredith would hit the roof and lose perspective before fleeing the country to distance herself from the issue.

Castle had no one else.

"Let go of me," she ordered.

"PLEASE help," he was close to a break down and she could see that in his eyes.

She sighed heavily, weighing up the options. Her loyalties landed with Castle. "Alright, Castle… what did you find?"

"A pregnancy test… it was positive."

The look on Beckett's face was shock horror. No one would have seen this coming no one would have fathomed the situation to be as bad as this, no where Alexis Castle was concerned. She was a good kid. Straight A, smart, mature, she made the right decisions. She was the adopted sister of RORY GILMORE before she'd met Logan.

"Are you sure…" she choked.

"Yes," he nodded.

"But-"

"I found the test hidden in her trash can. I don't- I don't know what I'm supposed to do now. She was always the adult, she looked after me… what do I- what do I do, Beckett?" he wanted someone to tell him, he _needed_ someone to tell him. This was a situation he didn't know how to handle.

"Calm down, for a start," she urged. She took a breath, pondering over the choices in her head. He waited. "You need to talk to her, be honest, tell her what you did and tell her what you found."

"She'll hate me…" he looked worried about that.

"No, she won't," Beckett insisted. "She'll be mad and yell and curse and run out the door, but when she calms down she will be okay."

"But what-"

"Before she runs, you need to tell her that she has your support, whether she keeps the baby or not, she needs to know that you are there for her, and as long as she knows that, she will be okay."

Castle nodded. It sounded like a hell of plan, but one that actually just might work.

"Take the rest of the day off…" she suggested. "I can hold it here. Talk to Alexis."

"Thanks Kate… Detective Beckett," he corrected.

Beckett nodded.

Castle dragged his feet out of the precinct and headed home.

_Like I said, sorry for the delay. Next chapter coming soon… if you review and let me know you want it of course :)_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: I hope you guys know that I wouldn't change Alexis' character without good reason, so for those with lil faith in me, SHAME ON YOU, and for those who KNEW there had to be another reason. YAY! This one is for you :)_

_This chapter is SLIGHTLY longer than my average. Enjoy!_

Alexis was studying on the sofa when Castle entered the apartment. He could tell she was still bordering upset, and he wanted to help, his heart ached as he imagined his baby girl giving up her life for motherhood. _The stupid decisions that young ones rush into_, he thought. He approached her with caution and sat beside her on the sofa, his hand reaching for hers.

She looked skeptical.

"I have something to tell you," he said seriously. It was rare for Castle to be serious with his daughter, but when it was, it usually involved a bombshell the size of Grand Canyon.

"Dad…" she looked worried. "I can't deal with anymore… please tell me mom hasn't decided to move to New York, because while I love her, I-"

Castle shook his head. For once this _didn't i_nvolve her mother's insane spontaneous decisions to wreck havoc on her daughter's life. "No, darling, this one involves me… I did something I'm sorry for."

Alexis watched his with care and for slightly withdrew. "You know, don't you?" she asked bluntly. Her face was panicked, as if she expected her father would go off the rails. She dropped her study book on her lap and folded her arms across her chest.

"First, I want to say sorry… I am SO sorry that I invaded your privacy. I panicked. Which is NO excuse, I know that, but I didn't know how to help you and I figured if I knew, then I could help. You weren't talking to me, and pushing you seemed the wrong choice… so I-"

"Dad," she interrupted. "What are you talking about? My privacy? What do you mean you invaded- by asking questions?"

Castle shook his head. "No, I kind of snooped through your room."

The horror on her face took a moment to register. "YOU WHAT?" she yelled.

He withdrew. "I'm sorry. I wanted to help."

"By going through MY things, how did that help?"

Castle shrugged. "I thought if I found some evidence then-"

"I am NOT one of your police cases, dad, I'm your daughter! I can't believe you betrayed my trust." She picked herself up from the sofa and dropped her book on the table, before making her way up stairs. He leaned back against the fabric of the sofa and sighed heavily. He was expecting that. He should expect a mood like that for the next 9 months. But he was still lucky, and he didn't forget that, what he knew was that Alexis was not most kids, and even when she lost her temper, it was done with maturity and elegance. He appreciated her for all that she was.

For a long time he sat in the loungeroom, contemplating his next move.

Was he supposed to give her space?

_Go and tell her you will support her in whatever decision she makes_, Beckett's voice echoed in his mind. Maybe she was right. He stood from the sofa and made his way up stairs, he took his time, hoping that each moment he took longer, would calm her down somewhat.

He knocked softly on the door, and waited for a reply.

He got none.

He knocked again.

"What do you want dad?" she called out.

"Can I come in?" he asked hopefully. Castle wasn't used to the silent treatment from his baby girl.

"If you have to," she groaned from her bed.

He pushed open the door and approached the bed.

"I really am sorry, kiddo."

"Fine," she said. "You're sorry. Is that all?"

"No," he said positioning himself beside her. He reached out to take her hand but she pulled it away, causing his stomach to flitter. Was she ever going to stop being mad? "Listen to me, despite what I did, I love you. You are my rock, kid. I wouldn't be where I am without you. You're my reason for living…"

She rolled her eyes.

"Fine, don't believe it. It doesn't matter, what matters is that you know how much I love you, and how important you to me, you need to know that no matter what you do I will NEVER stop loving you. I will support you, even if I don't like the decision you're making. If you make a mistake and you have to deal with the consequences then-"

"Dad," she interrupted. "You're doing it again, stop rambling. What are you talking about?"

"The baby," he insisted.

"I don't want to deal with it right now…" she explained.

"I know that, but you have to make a choice, you can't keep holding off. I mean, we have to talk about it…"

"WHY?" clearly, Alexis was frustrated.

"Because we need to know what steps to take."

"Why does that matter?"

"Alexis, I know you're scared but you have a choice to make now, whether you keep it or… there are other options, you can adopt to someone who is less fortunate than-"

"GOD!" she screamed. "I'm NOT pregnant!"

Castle pulled back as if he had been slapped. He wasn't sure whether relief had occurred already, or was on its way. "You're not?" he didn't understand this situation too well.

"No," she insisted. "Dad, how on earth did you reach that conclusion?"

"I found the test in the trash bin," he said simply.

"See," she folded her arms across her chest. "This is what comes from snooping."

"So you're NOT pregnant?" he asked again.

"No, dad," he sighed with deep relief. His baby was okay. "It was Hannah's."

"Hannah's pregnant?"

"Yes. I got upset because she has wasted her life. She wanted to do so many things and now she can't, she'll be tied to a baby. She wants to keep it."

Castle nodded, pretending to be interested. All he really cared about was that his baby girl was still safe. He wasn't ready to let her go yet, not to the world, and not that way.

"I love you."

"I know, dad. I love you too. Even if you snoop," she hugged him then and he embraced it.

"I won't snoop anymore," he promised.

"I'd like to believe that," she smiled.

"Me too," he laughed.

"Just so you know… I'm still me, dad. I have plans for my life, and I intend to follow through with them, and in case you're worried. I'm a virgin."

The word made his shutter.

"Good to know," he smiled.

_It's not the end… unless you want it to be… I'm guessing most of you signed up for this because you thought it would involve a K-9. You are correct. In the next chapter we have a hurdle involving Malcolm and a police conference... what will Beckett do?_

_Post a review if you will… let me know you want more… :)_


	9. Chapter 9

_A/N: Let the games begin… :)_

"I'm going to kill him!" she muttered to herself as she cleaned up the puppy spill on the carpet. She was referring to Castle, who had been insane enough to present her with a present that meant a hoard of work on top of her already heavy schedule. She was stuck. All morning Beckett had been completing her decision, and the fact was that she couldn't make it. She liked Malcolm, he was cute and despite her long days, she was happy to have someone to come home to. It had been a month since he'd given her the animal, and she had thoroughly grown attached. She had found herself calling him other names, when the K-9 was drawing on her last nerve and was being more than a B*&$!, a name that she thought she'd never want to hear again.

Now it was a private joke, between herself and the dog.

All Beckett could come up with to solve her pickle, was payback. Instead of leaving the dog at the shelter and having the pay for it, she was going to pawn him off with Castle. Let him deal with the "dog mess" for a change. See if he liked it.

At the bullpen, she found him chatting animatedly with Ryan and Esposito.

"CASTLE!" she called. "A word please?"

He looked up and smiled when he saw it was her, and left the conversation without so much as an "excuse me" and made his way to her. "Yes, ma'am," he grinned.

"Lose the sap," she demanded.

He straightened up. "What's up?"

"I have to take Malcolm!"

He frowned. "Why?"

"Because I have a conference to go to, in New York and I can't take a dog with me."

Castle smiled cheekily. "You could be like Paris Hilton, and put him in your handbag!"

"Castle!" she warned with that disapproving tone of voice, that one that made him both shutter with fear and rise to the occasion.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Only if I can name him SHERLOCK," he offered.

Beckett shook her head in frustrated. "You can call him pinhead, and it makes no difference, he's a dog Castle… and if you even THINK about bringing him to the precinct while I'm away, you are in SO much trouble."

He looked disappointed.

"How long you going away for?" he asked nosily.

She contemplated lying, but she saw no positive affect in that. "Two weeks."

"Oh," he said. "Okay… have fun."

"Thanks," she replied skeptically. He was being serious. "I will drop the dog off in the morning."

"Okay," he nodded. "What time- just so I know what time I am supposed to be up and out of bed?"

The image of him rising from bed, caused her to blush slightly, but she turned her face so that he wouldn't see. "Early. 6am."

He frowned. "People get out of bed that early?" he asked.

She suppressed a smile. "Yes, Castle. People have jobs and lives to attend to, we don't all have the luxury of staying in bed until we could be bothered writing a stupid book…"

He didn't seem fazed by her insult. "You like reading the STUPID book."

"More fool me," she sighed.

"You love it…"

"Do some work, make yourself useful!" she demanded.

_Next chapter… how will Castle handle the dog, and will he disobey Beckett and bring him to work?_

_Review and let me know you want it. :)_


	10. Chapter 10

_AN: Hahahahaha okay, most of you suspected this move, lol. See if you liked it :)_

The dog watched him pleading eyes. He already made the decision not to bring him to the precinct. He was afraid that Ryan or Esposito would use it as bait when Beckett came back, and the last thing he wanted to do was upset the apple cart, where Beckett was concerned. But as Malcolm looked up at him with those adoring puppy dog eyes, he couldn't help hesitating as he stood in the doorway. "I can't take you!" he frowned.

The K-9 cocked his head.

"No…" Castle whined feeling himself cave.

A whimper came out, and Castle folded. He reached behind the door and took the lead; Malcolm bounced excitedly as Castle struggled to clip to lead. "Stupid dog…" he muttered more to himself than the K-9.

He arrived at the bullpen and inconspicuously carried the dog in the bag on his arm, hoping no one would notice. But the puppy had no intention of playing quietly and instantly let out a squeak of excitement, as Castle laid the bag across the chair.

Ryan and Esposito's head shit up at the sound, and a smile spread across Castle's face. "He didn't want me to go," he explained innocently.

"You're a sap," Ryan teased approaching the bag and peering in to see the dog. "Cute…"

"You're not going soft too are you," Esposito accused his partner.

"Nuh," Ryan denied. He pulled back from Malcolm, and he jumped from the bag, excitedly into Ryan's arms. He managed to catch him, and Malcolm licked his face with gratitude. "Okay… so the dog had me at 'hello'…" he shrugged unbothered.

Castle watched the two of them, with a wide smile. There was something about Malcolm that drew in a crowd. Something about the way his ears picked up, and those sweet adoring eyes watched you with such intensity. Yeah, he concluded, the dog wasn't so bad to take care of. He might even enjoy the time he got to spend with him.

"You better hide him before the Captain comes in," Esposito warned. "He won't be as understanding about having a drooling puppy running through the precinct."

Castle shrugged. He wasn't bothered.

He picked up the puppy in his arms and cuddled him closely. He thought about Beckett then, about what she would do or say if she could see him now. She'd roll her eyes, he thought, and tell him he was an idiot, before demanding that he remove the dog from the bullpen.

He laughed at the fact that she wasn't here to tell him off.

Before Castle had the chance to hide the dog in the bag, Captain Montgomery made an appearance. He spotted the dog instantly, sure that no K-9's usually ran wild in his precinct.

With no other option, Castle nuzzled his face into the dog's neck, trying to play the blameless card.

"Don't bother, Castle. I heard the dog yelp when I walked in this morning," he said folding his arms across his chest.

"You're not mad, sir?" Castle looked at him skeptically.

"No, I expected it. Kate told me before she left that you might try something like this," he shot her a know-it-all smile.

"She knew?" Castle was surprised.

"She knows you better than _you_ know you, Castle!" Montgomery laughed.

"Yeah," he nodded with amusement as he thought about her sitting at some conference with a wide smirk on her face. She knew him.

_Hahahahaha sound like Beckett? _

_Not that a usual precinct would allow dogs in there, but this is a laid-back precinct and let's face it, anything is possible with castle there! _

_PLEASE review, and let me know you want another chapter. :)_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: YAY! I'm glad you liked the last chapter…so here's the next one. Ready. Set. GO! :)_

Castle was playing with Malcolm one evening after work, when his daughter came waltzing through the door. She looked cheery, which was good considering how miserable she had been in the past few weeks. He looked up momentarily from his attention on the K-9.

"Hey precious, feeling better?" he asked.

"Yeah," Alexis nodded.

"Everything's good then…" he said patting the seat beside him. Alexis joined him on the couch, and took the puppy from his arms.

"Yeah, Hannah decided to keep the baby, her mom is being really supportive so she's not half as stressed out. It's really good," Alexis was happy, and the relief that Castle felt that his daughter was no longer in pain, caused him to lean over and hug her.

"I'm glad kiddo… really," Castle smiled.

"Thanks, dad… you know for being cool about everything." She played with the dog for a few minutes. "So when does Detective Beckett get back?"

"Tomorrow," he smiled. The prospect of seeing her excited him. Her face… her sarcastic tone… the roll of her eyes when he made some stupid comment. He missed her.

"You and Beckett should get married…" Alexis teased. He suppressed a smile; the idea didn't seem half bad. Waking up to Beckett every morning, arguing over the last piece of toast before work, of course he wouldn't need to research for his books anymore, she'd go off to work and he'd stay home and write. Yeah, he liked that idea. "Dad?"

"Sorry what?" he snapped back to reality.

Alexis laughed at him. "You may as well get married, then you don't have to share custody of Malcolm," she grinned.

"HA HA!" he mocked. His mind was still on the idea of marrying Beckett… yeah he was beginning to REALLY like that idea. He'd been married twice. Third time was a charm…

Beckett didn't call past Castle's apartment when she returned home from the police conference. She had gotten in too late, and instead had decided that she'd collect the dog after work the next day. The moment she walked through the door, she felt the weight of sleep weigh on her. Dropping her bags on the bedroom floor, she climbed into bed. Her head hit the pillow and she was asleep in minutes. The alarm woke her the next morning, and she rose from the bed, fully rested and dressed for work. In the spare few minutes she had, she unpacked her bags from her conference trip, and then left for work.

She was slightly nervous about seeing Castle again. She'd missed him while she had been away, which had surprised her since she had been without him for an entire summer before that. She missed the childish banter that he used to cheer her up when she was having a bad day… she missed the fun loving boy that everyone in the precinct enjoyed… she even missed the way his mind worked when solving cases.

The moment she walked into the precinct, she was reminded of WHY she rolled her eyes when he did something immature.

She watched as he and the boys, Ryan and Esposito, made cooing noises with the puppy, the one she hadn't seen in two weeks. The puppy she had order Castle NOT to bring to work. Of course, she had expected it, had even warned the Captain it might happen. He'd called her while she was away and relived the moment his face turned pale when he'd been busted brining it in, the first day she was gone. Montgomery and she had laughed endlessly about Castle's predictability.

"I can see what happens to the work load around here, when I'm gone," she teased making her presence known.

"Beckett!" the excitement in his voice made her smile. She'd missed him too.

He left the puppy in the hands of the boy and came over to her, throwing his arms around her briefly in a hug. She tensed, unsure how to respond, she stood there instead, allowing him to touch her without flinching, she felt the warmth of his body against hers, and she found that she didn't hate it as she might have expected. Then he stepped back. "You're back!"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Hi," she waved at the boys.

"How was the trip?" Ryan asked.

"Fine," she said.

She sat at her desk, and instantly noticed the chewed corner of case file, she'd been working on before she'd left for the conference. "CASTLE!" she barked.

He only laughed. "I missed you…"

She rolled her eyes, yeah, she missed him too.

_Hope you like this chapter. Not sure where to go from here… any ideas? __ I'll take whatever you got… I ain't fussy!_


	12. Chapter 12

_A/N: OKAY… now the story gets interesting… see what you think of THIS chapter. :)_

"_Damn it, Castle!" Beckett snapped. He was at it again, his stupid childish, immature games carried on in the precinct. This time he had gone too far._

_He stalked towards her, and she was instantly aware of her increased heart rate. He looked like he was on a mission. Instead of stopping when he reached her, he made a grab for her, slamming her gently against the wall. Beckett was aware of the people who were suddenly surrounding her. Ryan, Esposito, Lanie… even the Captain, their eyes glued to Castle and Beckett, to see her reaction._

_She turned her eyes to castle, whose hand began to move towards her face, resting on her cheek, his index finger tracing the lines in her face. His eyes watched her with intensity and she felt her whole body heat up. She could barely breathe. _

"_Cas…" she couldn't even manage his name. _

"_Shhhh," he urged, a finger settling on her lips. _

_She closed her eyes, and a moment later, she felt the intensity of his mouth brush against hers. God, she had never been kissed this way before, she had never felt her body flush at the touch of another man. She had her attraction to Castle, sure, how could she deny that? But this was insane… she was aware that she had an audience and yet her attention was sorely focused on her co-worker. Her partner. Her… whatever the hell he was!_

_She felt her hand reach out to grasp him around the neck, and moved her body closer to his, eager to feel the proximity even more._

"_Oh, Kate…" he moaned in obvious pleasure. "You are so-"_

_He didn't manage to finish his sentence… _

Her eyes fluttered open, and it took a moment to realize her surroundings before she felt a flood of disappointment. Damn! The embarrassment soon followed as she realized what she had been disappointed about. Lucky for her, all that she had to watch her blush was the K-9 who slept in his basket beside the bed.

It took all her strength to get out of bed, get dressed and leave for work.

Her heart pounded excessively as she crossed the bullpen to reach her desk.

His eyes were already lingering on her, like he could read her mind. He approached the desk, the moment she flopped down in her chair. It took all her strength to bury the anxiety that seemed to surface and push through her casual tone.

"Good morning, detective."

"Castle," she said struggling to keep her voice even.

"You okay?"

_Holy crap, he can see it all over my face!_

"Sure," she nodded. "Don't you have work to do?"

"Not really, no… how's the K-9 beauty?"

"No longer your concern," she shot back. There was the sarcasm, but still she felt something familiar lacking in herself. Why was she so nervous? It was a dream, she'd had them many times before… okay, so certainly not in the same way.

_OH, get a grip girl, you need advice._

Instantly she thought of Lanie.

_I DO like this chapter… hope you did too… care to hear the next one… review and let me know :0_


	13. Chapter 13

_A/N: thanks for the interest in this story… hope you like this chapter. _

_Happy reading :)_

Lanie had noticed that her friend was unusually quite. ALL DAY!

She raised the issue.

"Spill girl, what's the problem?" she had never been one to skit around the truth. She leant over the examination table and peered at the corpse.

Beckett played dumb. "What are you talking about… what's the verdict?"

"It's not a suicide!" she stated. "But I might set your murder up like one, if you don't tell me what the hell is on your mind?"

Beckett looked around the morgue to see that no one was listening in to the conversation.

"I don't know what you mean," she shrugged. "If it's not a suicide then you believe it was a homicide?"

"I believe I won't tell you nothin' till you give something of yourself!"

Beckett sighed heavily.

"Do we really have to do this?"

"We really do," Lanie assured her folding her arms across her chest.

Beckett took a deep breath. "I had a dream," she said simply. "Now, are you ruling this homicide, so I can tell the team,"

"A dream huh?" Lanie looked mighty interested as she looked up from the table. "Do tell…"

"Lanie!" she warned.

"Was this a dream of substance, or one of intrigue?" she teased playfully.

"Lanie, come on…"

"Nuh hu, come now… I want the details. Was it about Castle?"

Beckett evidently blushed. "Sort of."

"Sort of, meaning it was him but not at all like his usual self…" Lanie thought about this for a moment with a wide smile. "Was it a sex dream?"

"Way to be subtle, Lanie…"

"It was, wasn't it?" she laughed.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Homicide or not?"

"Yes," she nodded suddenly looking serious again as she re-looked at the body on the table before her. "I found stab wounds on the back of her head, and below her left shoulder blade."

"So, it's another murder," she said more to herself than to her friend. "Great, this day just keeps getting better."

"After a sex dream about Castle, I figure you'd be in a better mood."

Beckett glared at her. "Well, I'm not."

"Not getting any, huh?"

Beckett rolled her eyes and made a move to leave.

"Still on for Friday dinner?"

"Yeah, yeah…" she muttered.

"We can compare sex dreams if you want?" she laughed as Beckett made her way out.

"SHUUUT UUUUP!" she called back, her voice echoing down the hall.

Lanie laughed.

_I had the idea to have wine and a chat between Lanie and Beckett… are you interested? _

_Post and tell me, or I'll leave that out and keep going! :)_


	14. Chapter 14

_A/N: Too many people wanted this one, and it made no difference to the chapter after that… so, here is wine, Lanie and Beckett. _

_Enjoy :)_

Beckett opened the door, and smiled when she saw that Lanie was carrying more than one bottle of wine under her arm. She snatched a bottle and opened it, taking a swig as she made her way to the couch. She flopped down.

"Feeling better?" Lanie asked with amusement.

"Sure," she shrugged in reply.

"You'll be fine, when you get some grog into ya," Lanie smiled opening the other bottle, and following Beckett's lead.

Beckett was eager to rid the images from her mind, _her and Castle_… what the hell was her imagination thinking?

"I know a way to make it all better," Lanie smirked.

"If you say ANYTHING that involves Castle coming within a foot of me, I'm going to be the one to smack you around," she threatened.

"Girl, I'd like to see you try…" Lanie laughed. "The only way you're gonna rid that picture you got going in ya head is to act it out."

"I don't think so," she denied.

"So you never did tell me what it was about?" Lanie pushed as she drank down another mouthful of wine. It seemed to slide down her throat so easily.

Beckett was up to the challenge and took another swig of her own bottle.

Before long the two working girls were slightly louder, crazier, and much more open.

"Damn right, Castle's a spunk!" Beckett stated matter-of-factly.

"HAHAHA… you admit it!" Lanie was enjoying every minute of this.

"I won't even remember tomorrow," she giggled.

Lanie, who had somewhat more control over her mind than Beckett obviously had, took advantage of the situation. "So what exactly did the dream entail?" still as eager to find out now, than the moment she heard about it.

"I… he was being himself," Beckett slurred. "You know chilmisg…"

"You mean childish?" Lanie guessed.

"That's what I saaaaaaid," she groaned. "And he slammped me against the walk."

"On the ground?" Lanie gasped.

"No," Beckett slapped the wall behind the couch. "Walk!"

"Oh wall…" she was getting it now.

"I said that!"

"Go ahead girl, this stuff is working twittering."

More drinking was consumed.

"He kissed me!" the words came out clear, and her face expression changed as the tears began to slide unchecked down her face.

Lanie reached a hand out to comfort her. "What's up, girl?"

"He'll break my heart, Lanie…" she sobbed, as her words began to clear.

"What do you mean? You never gave him a chance," she reminded her friend.

"I can't," Beckett confessed. "He stirs the pot and runs... it's what he does. This is Richard Castle, divorced twice, and sleeps with every girl who bats her eyelashes at him. He's a Ladies man. He doesn't connect with woman the way that other men do, he's too…"

"I get it," Lanie nodded listening intently. "But I've seen the way that boy looks at you, and the way you look at him. You can't say he doesn't connect. He's just cautious of making you another notch on his belt. He sees you differently."

"He does?" she sniffed.

"Yeah, girl… you're a princess to him."

Beckett laughed. "I ain't no princess. I carry a gun."

The girls giggled as they polished off the two bottles of wine, and changed conversation from Castle.

"What's the best place you ever did it?" Beckett grinned.

Lanie thought about it for a moment. "A tree branch! You!"

Beckett cackled. "A public toilet!"

"WHAT?"

"The adrenaline rush of being caught was incredible," she explained. "Besides, it wasn't easy keeping quite!"

They talked about the cases they'd been involved in, and instantly moved that to something lighter… high school crushes… enemies they'd made while growing up… personality clashes.

Beckett passed out first.

_Hahahaha I hope I made you laugh. Thank you for being so loyal to this story. You should see what I have coming up… it's a doozy._

_Review me if you want to know :)_


	15. Chapter 15

_A/N: Thank you ALL for reviews and encouragement. _

_Here's the next chapter… the ending is coming soon. :)_

"I heard that too," Ryan was saying as he whispered suspiciously in the back room with his partner. Castle snuck up on them, hoping to overhear some good gossip. He'd been kind of bored lately.

"BOO!" he yelled.

Both Ryan and Esposito jumped back, guilty looks on their faces.

"What did you hear?" Ryan demanded.

"Everything," castle smirked. In truth, he'd heard nothing, but he was hoping that if he played his cards right, he might be able to pull information from them.

"Really?" Esposito looked slightly afraid.

"Yeah… I totally agree." One of them was bound to slip up.

"You do?" both now looked confused.

"Uh… no, I mean, I… nuh, I DON'T agree. I definitely DON'T agree."

_There, that should do it._

A look passed between the two detectives. "He doesn't know anything," they said in unison.

"Crap," Castle mumbled. "Okay… fine, I'll give 200 dollars each, if you tell me what I'm not supposed to know."

Another look passed between the two men.

Ryan shrugged. "Fine," he said. "Cash first."

Castle fished in his wallet and pulled out his emergency stash. He always carried five hundred dollars on him, it was a ritual he had had since he'd gotten famous. It was less than he gave Alexis for allowance once a month.

Castle grinned. "What aren't I supposed to know?"

"Beckett had dreams about you," he stated matter-of-factly.

The words took time to process.

"Beckett?"

Esposito nodded snatching his two hundred dollars from Castle's limp hand. He was stunned. Beckett was having dreams about HIM! No way… he didn't believe it… Beckett was not that type of girl, was she?

"Are you guys having me on?" he looked annoyed. It wasn't the money that bothered him; it was just money he was rich enough not to be bothered by it. It was being left out of the loop that bothered him more. The boys had a secret that Castle didn't know. He hated that.

"Nuh man, for real," Esposito assured him.

Castle grinned slowly, still unsure.

"Man to man…" he urged.

"Yeah," Ryan agreed. "Sure thing, she told Lanie last night over a bottle of wine. Lanie told my buddy here, and he shares everything with me…"

"I bet," Castle winked.

"NOT cool man."

"What are you gonna do with the information?" Ryan asked.

Castle thought about it. "Make my move…" he said.

"Sure, sure…" Esposito teased.

"Nuh," he nodded with a wide smile. "If she's dreaming about me, she must be thinking about me. I'm gonna make a move… subtle, I think. I don't want to scare her."

"Hey," Ryan grabbed his shoulder. "If this is gonna be just another…"

Castle shot him a look. "It's Beckett. I won't screw that up."

"We'll beat you up," Ryan promised.

"I know… and so will Lanie! That's one scary woman…" he laughed as he walked away.

He was going to find Beckett.

_I know I know its short… review if you want another chapter. _

_HOW is castle going to do this! :)_


	16. Chapter 16

_Okay guys, thanks for the persistence and for the patience, sorry it's been a delayed chapter. Enjoy this one :)_

All humility was lost when Castle approached Beckett by the coffee machine.

A wide grin spread across his face. "Hey…"

Beckett instantly looked skeptical. "What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged.

"I don't believe you." She folded her arms across her chest and waited for him to speak.

_Do I just ask her out? Do I play hard to get_… Castle had never been very good at approaching women he ACTUALLY cared about, if they meant nothing and no emotional attachment had been created, then he was a chick magnet, nothing unnerved him, and his confidence shined like the first star in a dark sky. But now… as he looked at Beckett, while his arrogance remained centered, his confidence in himself lacked. _When did I start CARING about her so much?_

Castle could almost predict the answer. She'd laugh at him, accuse him of childish behavior and walk away like nothing had changed. She's act like it had been a joke at her expense, nothing more than an attempt to get a rise out of her.

But determination took centre place. He'd taken too long to make his move, for over a year he'd been playing games, flirting and getting no closer to what he wanted. He knew he had to be forceful, had to be serious if she was going to take him seriously. He loved how understanding she'd been when he'd spoken about Alexis, how easy it was for her to dole out advice, like she was a part of Alexis' life already. He liked how easy it was to be around her.

"Date me!" he stated matter-of-factly. _Oh, well it was out now_. "I mean, go out on a date… with me."

She stepped back slightly shocked. "Get real, Castle!"

"I am," he nodded. There was no hint of humor in his voice, all jokes aside, with a blank face, he waited for a response.

"Castle…" she was going to say no.

"Please, Kate, one date… I'll be on my BEST behavior."

"Why would I date you?" she asked.

Castle smiled, confident that the boys had told him the truth. "I have a hunch you've thought about it… maybe a little more than that even," he smirked.

"What are you talking about?" Panic streamed her face, as her eyes fleeted around the precinct, as if she'd find the answer. She looked back to Castle. "What does that mean?"

Castle smiled smugly.

The realization crossed her face. "LANIE!"

_Way to leave you hanging huh? hehehehe_

_Review if you want another one :)_


	17. Chapter 17

_Hi… this chapter is pretty much dialogue. But I couldn't leave you without knowing HOW Beckett dealt with Lanie, and I wanted to know too… so this is what my brain came up with… hope you like it. :)_

Beckett pushed the doo open and glared angrily, waiting for Lanie to look up. She instantly realized what had happened and her defenses rose.

"I didn't tell Castle," she promised.

Beckett rolled her eyes. "you didn't have to, all you had to do was tell ANYONE within a two mile radius and he would have heard you!"

"What's that mean?" Lanie snapped.

"Nothing's sacred here, Lanie!"

Lanie's eyes shot to the floor.

"How could you do this to me? I told you in confidence!"

"You never told me it was a secret," she replied bashfully. Lanie felt like a real S#!

"I didn't know I had to," Beckett groaned. "I had no idea you'd go blabbing to everyone you passed on the streets the next day."

"I only told Esposito," she assured her, as if that was supposed to calm Beckett's nerves.

"You took advantage of me… I was drunk."

"You were pretty funny," Lanie smiled.

Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Thanks a lot!"

Lanie frowned. "What did Castle say?"

"He asked me on a date!" Beckett made it sound like a fate worse than death.

Lanie grinned. "Girl, you've been holdin' out me. When's the big date?"

"I didn't say yes," she replied.

"Why not?"

"It's Castle," she stated. The name was supposed to speak for itself. "He's all on nine years old."

"Give him a break, he puts up with you at work every day," the words were not said with anger or bitterness. Lanie was the only one who would get away with saying it like it was, with Beckett, there was few people she had the patience to listen to. Lanie was one of the few she grinded her teeth and sat through a lecture for.

Beckett folded her arms across her chest. "So he has a good backbone,"

"DAMN STRAIGHT! Girl, what do I have to do to smack some sense into you… cuff you and drag you to precinct myself," she muttered.

"I'm NOT dating Castle, Lanie, so get the idea out of your head. It's NOT happening."

"Why the hell not? You told me over a bottle of wine you were hot for him,"

"I never said that," she denied. _Did I?_

"Close enough," Lanie shrugged. The details didn't matter too much.

Beckett groaned.

"You owe him an answer, girl."

"Yeah fine," she mumbled.

"And considering you walked away from him, you are obligated to say yes…" Beckett screwed up her face. "Come on girl, you owe him a chance… he might surprise you."

"I doubt it."

"Well, IF he blows it, I'll smack him out for you… simple."

Beckett smiled. She'd always been curious about castle's "dating" ability. Not that she'd admit it aloud, but he had his moments of shining when it came to police work. She'd seen him with his daughter, when his maturity had blossomed. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to see him prove his worth, when it came to love… LOVE? Had she just put that word in the same sentence with Richard Castle? Yeah, she was losing it.

As she wondered back into the bullpen a while later, she caught Castle's eye.

"My house. Six o'clock. One date, and don't even think about showing up a minute past six."

He raised his hand in defense, a smile as wide as when his book became BEST-sellers. "Swear."

_How does the date go…? Care to find out!_

_You know the rules, drop me a review, and I'll post another chapter. _


	18. Chapter 18

_Alright… next chapter up. Enjoy the date!_

Beckett paced the floor of her apartment, dressed elegantly in a swish white skirt, with a black lace-up blouse. Her hair was swept up from her face, and the two inch heels gave her extra height. The nerves were beginning to set in as she glanced at the clock on the wall.

Castle was late!

Regret seemed to form in her mind, as she wondered if this wasn't a mistake. Richard Castle didn't know all that much about holding down a mature relationship. Was it too late to cancel the date? If she texted his mobile… told him she had an emergency case at the precinct. As she reached for her black handbag to retrieve her phone, she heard footsteps by the door, and then the sudden tap on her apartment door.

He was here.

She crossed the room to answer the door. Castle stood grinning dressed in black slacks and a clean pressed blue shirt.

"You're late," she looked unimpressed.

"Sorry… Alexis and mother had issues with my shirt," he smiled. "In the end I picked it myself," he looked mildly proud of himself.

Beckett's eyes lingered on the shirt, the color brought out his eyes, enhancing his appearance. She shrugged, pretending to be apathetic; he didn't need a bigger head than he had already. "Next time, leave the job to the girls of the house…" she teased over her shoulder as she walked out of the apartment. Castle followed.

"Geez, it takes a lot to impress you," he mumbled.

"Better believe it," she laughed.

They walked to his car, and he politely opened the door for her. Beckett rolled her eyes and climbed in. "You don't intend to do this the whole time do you?" she asked with mock sarcasm. She liked the idea that he was a gentleman, and she felt protected by the small gesture of opening doors, but this was Kate Beckett and she had her independence. She had a reputation which preceded her; she couldn't afford to lose it for a few kind gestures by a gentleman.

No ma'am, she had no interest in that.

"Kate," Castle looked slightly annoyed. "I am taking you on a date, which gives me the right to treat you with respect and consideration… so shut up and enjoy the ride. Now get in," he held the door open and Beckett climbed in.

"Where are we going anyway?" Beckett asked unable to stand the fact that she was NOT the one in control. It was a lot for to give up her independence, even for something as simple as dinner. She'd been alone so long, it was hard to find the balance between letting go.

"It's a surprise…" he grinned. Castle liked having the upper hand for a change; it was written across his face so evidently it was hard NOT to see. Beckett rolled her eyes again. Immature boy!

It was another ten minutes of unimportant conversation before Castle pulled into the carpark to the VOLTER restaurant. Beckett's eyes widened in surprise. This was the kind of restaurant that needed a deposit and a year's notice before you'd get a table. She looked across at him with questioning eyes.

"How did you get this?"

"I got connections," he shrugged.

"So does Julia Roberts and she can't get a table within a few hours…" she pointed out.

Castle hesitated. "Don't get mad…" he pleaded.

Her back instantly straightened, when he said that, she knew it meant she was going to get mad.

_I hadn't planned for the chapter to end there. I am still deciding which way to go… and you know me and cliff-hangers… but I was thinking you readers can decide for me, I will give you a word and you have to decide which road I am going to take. It can be CUTE or CLASSIC Castle… you decide, however keep in mind both will have different repercussions._

_Next chapter comes when I get the most of the same word._


	19. Chapter 19

_A/N: I had a toss-up, and I wanted to do both, and most of the reviewers were ALSO undecided… so I came up with this. If I do BOTH in two separate parts, you tell me which way I should go… :)_

_**CUTE! **_

"Well…" Beckett pushed. "How did you get the table?"

Castle hesitated. "You promised NOT to get mad."

Beckett rolled her eyes. "I won't promise anything until I know what it is…"

Castle shook his head. "I ain't walking into that trap, ma'am… forget it," he denied.

"Castle!" she warned.

He sighed. "Fine. When we first met… when there was the copycat with my book…"

"I know when we first met," she was getting impatient.

"Hold onto your undies, don't push the story," he smiled.

Beckett leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest, she felt anxious about his reply. Knowing Castle it was going to be wild, and inappropriate. ANYHTHING where Castle was concerned made one anxious. "I'm waiting…"

"I was attracted to you," he stated matter-of-factly. She could feel her cheeks flush but she ignored it, she didn't want him drawing attention to the color of her cheeks. "I liked you… I don't know if that mattered," he didn't wait for a response, and she didn't give him one. "Anyway, I sort of made the booking the same week we met, thinking that maybe…"

Beckett frowned. "What do you mean, that was like 18 months ago…"

Castle nodded his head and lowered it.

"You made a booking JUST in case I agreed to go out with you," she couldn't be hearing this. No man had ever gone to this much trouble for her, but especially one of an immature IQ. It was too mature and thoughtful. It both surprised it, and made her body flood with warmth. He did ALL that, for HER!

"Yeah, so…" he made it sound like it meant nothing.

Beckett knew different.

"Castle, I…" she wanted to say something but she was speechless.

_**CLASSIC CASTLE!**_

"Well…" she folded her hands in her lap as she waited on his response.

_Was she always this beautiful?_ He stared at the way she composed herself, she was SO incredibly stunning. It knocked the wind from him. He liked the way she held herself, the way she put up that wall, it gave him a challenge. But he also enjoyed the fact that occasionally she let it fall, and he stepped over it, eager to talk to her, it was easier to reach her…

"I'm waiting…" she looked impatient.

_Oh, she's waiting on an answer. What was the question again?_

"What was the question?" he asked shyly.

"How did you get this table, when the majority of celebrities have trouble," she pushed. She tapped her fingers on the white cotton cloth on the table, and then took a sip of water.

"Oh, well…" he wasn't even sure why he was compelled to tell the truth, why he couldn't smile, bat his eyes and tell a sweet white lie. He didn't know what possessed him to be honest, but he was. The words spilled over and he regretted them the moment her expression changed. He was expecting it. "I told the Manager that I was undercover with another detective in the police force… we had important business and we were trying to catch a perp, that would be in this restaurant. I promised to keep it on the down-low…" he wasn't sure why he expected her to smile.

She did no such thing.

Beckett shook her head. "Why am I NOT surprised to hear that?"

"Kate… I-" he reached out for her hand and she snatched it back quickly.

"Don't even think about it!" she barked. She glared at him. "You never change, Castle. You are the same IMMATURE boy I met the first time I saw you. It's pathetic really, but I'm more pathetic to have agreed on this in the first place. I'm an idiot… and so are YOU!"

She stood then and pushed back the chair.

"I'm sorry you bothered to go through all that trouble to make up a story, I won't be eating dinner. Enjoy it on your own," she said, then she took her exit.

_I hope you liked BOTH ways… nevertheless, now I need a path… you decide! Hopefully this is an easier choice than the last one. I do promise though, that Castle and Beckett will have a HAPPILY EVER AFTER no matter what you choose. It's in the cards… you can't deny it… HAPPY choosing :)_


	20. Chapter 20

_A/N: I thought since you had to wait SO long for an update, I owed you this chapter. It's not any longer than the average but it has SOMETHING you all want. Enjoy :)_

"Come on, let's get you home," Castle announced when they finished their desert and coffee.

Beckett looked almost disappointed.

"We don't have to…"

Beckett smiled and pushed back her chair, standing up from the table. She laid the cloth that had been in her lap, neatly down across her place on the table. "No, Castle… that's fine. I should be getting home. It's late and we have work tomorrow," she explained.

He nodded, dropped the money in the envelope, with extra tip and led her out of the restaurant.

The drove back to her apartment was silent. He was worried that this was it, it would be the only thing she'd offer him before stepping back and offering him nothing but a partnership. Richard Castle wanted more. A lot more. He was falling deeper for her, as each moment passed. There was a side of her tonight that she never released. A side of her that made him ache, for something he didn't have.

He pulled the car up to the curb and jumped out, eager to walk to her the door. Any extra moment he got with her, was fine with him, and she didn't seem the least bit bothered that he was following her around like a lost puppy. She almost looked… honored.

At the door, she pulled her keys from her bag.

"Thanks for dinner, Castle."

He frowned. "Why don't you ever call me Rick?" he asked. He liked his name, most of the time, and he wondered what it sounded like on her tongue.

"I just don't," she shrugged uneasily.

"Why not?" he pushed.

She hesitated. "If you tell anyone…" she warned.

He held his hand up. "Swear."

He waited for her to go on.

"I used to call you _Rick_," the way it sounded was like fresh air in Spring. It was heavenly. "When I lined up to get one of your books… Derek Storm series."

He grinned cheekily. "You had the HOTS for me."

She rolled her eyes. "You've been so good all night, Castle, don't ruin it."

"Call me Rick," he pleaded.

"No,"

"WHY?" he whined.

"It's weird."

He pretended to be offended. "My name is weird. WHO I am… is weird?" he challenged.

"Castle…"

He turned his face.

"Rick," she whispered.

He looked back and smiled warmly, and watched shockingly as she leaned forward, bracing herself against him, one hand to his shoulder and the other to his waist. He felt the blood rush to his head. This couldn't be good for a man! He held his breath, and she leaned in, pressing her lips ever so lightly to his. He could smell the scent of her cherry shampoo, as he brought an arm around her, embracing her. She didn't resist him like he thought she would, she didn't pull back and slap him, accusing him of trying to take advantage of the situation.

Time hung effortlessly in the air as he parted his lips beneath hers.

Very gently, she pushed her palm to his chest and made a space between them, as she broke her mouth from his. He licked his lips, _Mmmm, strawberry chap-stick_.

Beckett smiled. "Goodnight Castle," and unlocked the door and let herself inside. "See you in the morning."

Castle stared at the closed door, still reeling from the action she had taken. He'd finally got kissed by Kate Beckett, detective beauty. He floated home on air.

_Was it worth the wait? _

_What will happen at work tomorrow… and how will Beckett act with him NOW? Post a review and I'll post a chapter. :)_


	21. Chapter 21

_A/N: I have been MAJOR busy with editing my own book for publishing (no bragging there. Lol), so excuse me for the late delay in posting. I will do what I can, if you don't mind waiting. In the meantime, enjoy the chapter and happy FANFIC-ing :) _

_Ps. To those who were confused about my path… SO sorry. I went with the first part. CUTE Castle, so when Beckett stormed out of the restaurant. It didn't happen; it was a kind of alternate reality. Sorry if I confused everyone, I forgot to mention it in the previous chapter notes._

"STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!" Kate cursed herself as she stood before the mirror in her uniform.

Some old black clacks and red leather jacket, but something was missing… she just couldn't work out what it was. Her hair was brushed neatly and sat the way it was supposed to. Her make-up was not smudged, and enhanced her appearance. She didn't look any different than she did every other morning before work.

STUPID CASTLE!

It was his fault her head was all over the place. She was still reeling from the kiss she had planted on him the night before. The date had been pretty close to perfect. It was still hard to believe that she kissed Richard Castle. Not that she didn't see him at work, day after day, yell at him over and over, and roll her eyes at his stupidity. This was different, this was the man himself. The man she had stood in line and bookstores for over an hour just to get an autograph from.

After minutes of stressing that something was off, she decided to leave it alone. If it was that important she could always go home again.

As she waltzed into the bullpen, her stomach was wrecking havoc and her brain was scrambled. But she made her way to her desk, ignoring the odd stares from eyes everywhere. Something was definitely off. _Why the hell are they all staring at me?_ Feeling self-conscience, she lowered her head and pretended to focus on the case file in front of her.

Castle approached, sending her heart rate through the roof.

She looked up and met his eyes. "Hi," she whispered nervously.

He grinned and slowly bent down to kiss her.

"CASTLE!" she barked pulling away. She jumped from her chair and shoved him toward the coffee room. Lucky for her, it was empty. She slammed him against the wall.

"WHAT?" he looked stunned.

"This is NOT appropriate behavior at work. Damn it, Castle. Why are you so insistent on breaking every rule in the book?" she didn't understand his lack of consideration. There was NO excuse for it.

He folded his arms across his torso. She saw the hurt flash across his eyes. "Why do you have to be such a tight-"

"Watch it," she warned.

Castle shook his head. "I was just going to kiss you, what's the big deal?"

The fact that he had to ask her that, made her realize how little he knew her. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all dating Richard Castle was just going to cause hassle. She watched him a moment. Okay, so he was more than easy on the eyes, but with his maturity level below 12, she felt like his mother at times.

They couldn't be a good thing.

"It's over, isn't it?" he asked bluntly.

She hesitated. "Castle…"

"Look, I know I'm a pain in the ass, I know that I act stupid, but… I want this, Kate. And you kissing me last night, you want me too, I know you do… so why don't you explain the rules to me, and don't give up so quickly."

Beckett considered this. He sure knew how to kiss, that in itself was worth keeping. "One more chance," she warned. "None of that at work though," she wagged her finger at him.

"You have to start paying attention too then," he grinned.

"What do I do wrong?" she challenged.

He leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You aren't wearing any shoes…"

Beckett's eyes popped out in horror as she stared down at her bare feet. How had she NOT noticed that?

"I'm glad I have an effect on you, Kate…" he smiled looking pleased.

Beckett rolled her eyes. _Damn cocky, arrogant, son of a…_

_What do you think of this?_

_Thanks for being patient guys… you're great. _

_;)_


	22. Chapter 22

_A/N: Hi everyone. Here's the new chapter. I have an idea coming, but I'm not sure where to go after that. So if you have any ideas, or places you want me to take this story, JUST let me know I'm pretty much open to ANYTHING atm. :)_

Beckett was smiling when she came through the front door. It had been a good day, despite Castle's inappropriate bullpen behavior. He'd met her in the parking lot of the precinct, and pushed her gently against the car, before kissing her. She had been both stunned and surprised; both in a good way. She had laughed at him, and told him that she wasn't going anywhere… they had all the time in the world. And even when the words came out, they didn't scare her.

She was actually happy, even without her shoes.

The phone was ringing when she opened the door, and she rushed to retrieve it.

"Hello," she greeted.

"Well, well, well, are we getting lucky tonight or what?" It was Lanie's voice.

Beckett's smile dropped. _Had Castle told EVERYONE already? TYPICAL! Hadn't even been dating 24 hours and the world knew about it!_

Beckett cleared her throat. "When did you see him?"

The silence on the other end was deafening.

"See who? Kate… are you okay?" Lanie sounded worried.

"Yes," she insisted. "I'm fine. Castle told you, didn't he?" she accused wanting to kill him already.

"Castle didn't tell me anything, I haven't seen him. Listen girl, what's with you? You seriously sounded like a kid with a new Pony only a moment ago!"

Beckett thought about her answer. Flashes of the day came to mind, and she smiled again. Castle hadn't told the world, then. Wait… she thought, it's only a matter of time before he does. "It's NOT a pony. It's Castle," she told Lanie.

Lanie stewed over the comment and then replied with a loud, excited voice. "YOU AND CASTLE DID IT!"

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Don't get a head of yourself, Lanie. We went out on a date, and it went… well."

Lanie laughed. "That's good."

"Yeah," she nodded. "It was."

"He kiss ya?"

"It's castle," she replied.

"He kissed ya. So… how was it?"

"I don't kiss and tell!"

"What a crock! I want details…"

Beckett smiled to herself. If it had been Lanie on the receiving end, she would have asked for the same thing. It was only fair.

"It was… good."

"Good?"

"Better than good… it was better than…"

"The dreams you had when he was just Richard Castle, Mystery writer?"

Beckett rolled her eyes. "Nothing gets passed you."

"Hell no!"

"Lanie…"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks, for you know, pushing me to go out with Castle."

"Hey, that's what I'm here for."

Beckett nodded to herself and a few minutes later they hung up.

It was then that she noticed, Malcolm hadn't come to the door to greet her. A wave of fear washed over her as she slowly walked to the bedroom.

_I can't help it! Cliff-hangers are FUN! _

_Okay guys, thanks for the interest in this story and in my ACTUAL novel. You've been great!_

_Review if you want to find out what happened to Malcolm!_


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: The sheets were a pay out to my friend LOVABLY17. Hehehehe LOVE YA sweetie. I thought I should probably bring back Malcolm now, since he's been missing a while. :)_

Malcolm pricked his ears up when Beckett came through the bedroom door. He sat perched in his basket, looking miserable. Once, she saw that the dog was alive and staring at her, the relief flooded her like Noah's Ark. At least no one had taken him, and he wasn't dead, that was a good sign.

Then the dog heaved and vomit extracted from the K-9's mouth and all over her Egyptian cotton sheets.

She rushed to him, her heart pounding, feeling ill at the thought of something happening to her beloved dog. Sure, it was pain in the… pretty much CASTLE way, when she first laid eyes on him, but just like Castle, she had grown attached to him, maybe even fallen as hard as LOVE. Yes, Beckett loved the DOG.

Her hand brushed the clammy fur on his head, as he nuzzled Beckett gently.

"What's up little guy?" she asked.

No response.

Beckett scooped the K-9 in her arms and looked around the bedroom. That's when she noticed the top drawer was open. Had she been that careless to forget to close it? DAMN! Her heart rate increased when she saw the torn up cardboard of the Cadbury chocolate block she USED to have in her top drawer.

"Oh God," she groaned.

She rushed to the kitchen, gripping her dog in her arms, as she lunged for the phone, she punched in Castle's number, using only one hand to grip the phone and dial the keys, while she held the puppy close against her, with the other.

"Please don't die…" she pleaded as she waited for the dial tone to click. The phone started ringing.

Beckett trembled.

_Answer the phone…_

The phone rang a second time.

_God, Castle, please BE home…_

A third ring.

_Damn it, Ca-_

"Hello?" the voice answered.

"Castle? I think Malcolm is dying. He might have ate some chocolate in the top drawer and-"

"Okay," he replied calmly. "Hold up… relax a moment… take a breath… now, I'm going to meet you at the Vet, it's-."

"I know where it is," she interrupted. She already grabbed her keys, and was halfway out the door.

_I am EVIL, you may call me EVIL if you like… what I am now asking of you before I post another chapter, and believe me, the one after next, will be the BEST YET, you need to go over to my profile, find a fanfic called DON'T GO, RALPH, and take a look, even if it's not your type of thing, It's only short. And my roommate has resorted to posting 2 reviews and looking at it, because I'm so sad no one wants to read it, and you can't get MORE tragic than that. Unless you resort to the bribing the fans, like I am now._

_PLEASE give it a chance… for a writer who will soon be published and maybe famous, and who will then have money to use as a bribe instead. LOL! _


	24. Chapter 24

_A/N: I promised you a good chapter next time, but it might have to be TWO in a row. Hope that's okay with you guys… this chapter is a little OOC, but you will find out WHY, in the next chapter. And you get to see a different side to Castle… :)_

_Ps. THANK YOU Eliza. C. You are INCREDIBLE and now the FF world knows it too! LOL! And thank you to ALL those you took a look at my THORNBIRDS FF, it's greatly appreciated. This chapter is for you!_

Beckett rushed through the double doors, the K-9 gripped tightly to her chest, as she rushed to the front desk. Her eyes were wide and worried.

"I need help!" she stated. "My dog ate chocolate!"

She felt a hand come down on her shoulder, and jumped, spinning around to face the intruder. Relief washed over her face when she saw Castle. With high emotions running, she crushed herself gently against him, the dog in between the two.

"He's not going to die, is he?" she asked as if he were the expert with animals.

He titled his head and smiled at her. "No, Kate. Malcolm will be okay… come on," he placed a hand at the small of her back as he followed the vet into the exam room.

Castle took the dog and placed him on the steel table, he visibly shook.

The vet instantly began to examine him.

Castle stood by Beckett's side, an arm around her shoulder. She would have thought it sweet, if her mind wasn't focused on Malcolm. Her eyes never wavered from the dog, and as she watched the Vet concentrate, she leaned in to Castle as if she expected the news to be bad.

The vet finally looked up. "He's had a lot of chocolate… that is NOT good for a dog, as I'm sure you already know. We're going to keep him over night," she told Beckett. Beckett trembled beside her partner and felt the air trap in her lungs. "It's nothing to be too alarmed about. We are going to pump his stomach, I'll do that with a hose that goes down his throat…" she explained. "He'll be sore for a while and so we have to keep him here to watch… but if all is well tomorrow, he'll be as good as new."

Castle smiled, squeezing her shoulder. "See, he'll be fine."

"You can give the receptionist your information, and discuss payment, and then go home. We will call you in the morning," she explained.

The thought of leaving the dog made her chest tighten. "NO!" she stated.

"Ma'am…"

"I'm not leaving!"

"Kate…" Castle warned.

"No," she snapped. She looked up at him and shook her head. "I'm NOT leaving him! Castle, I will not-"

"Okay," he assured her. "Alright, the two of us will stay, it's okay, you and me… we'll stay."

She nodded feeling instantly relieved.

Castle took her up to the reception desk and sorted the payments and her details, before they reassured her, her animal was in safe hands. Still she refused to leave. "I won't leave Mal!"

The receptionist looked slightly annoyed. "I'm sorry ma'am, but there will be no one to look after you."

"I don't need you to look after me; I need you to look after MY dog!"

"Calm down, ma'am!"

She rolled her eyes, looking tired. "I am a police officer in this City and I will be treated with some-"

"KATE!" Castle barked. His tone was strong and firm. "This is their field of expertise, like yours is fighting bad guys and mine is writing books, they know what they're doing and they will make sure Malcolm is safe. Tomorrow, we will come back here and pick him up. I promise," his eyes locked on hers and he was telling her he was in charge.

She sunk against him in defeat.

"Come on, I'll take you home…" he suggested.

She nodded vaguely and he led her out of the VET. In the car, the drive home was quite and when he pulled the car to a stop.

"Come up?" she asked.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Yeah, I'm sure."

_Ooooh, could it be love! Hehehehe. How will Castle handle this one? _

_Review and find out!_


	25. Chapter 25

_A/N: yeah, I know ppl have been waiting for this, but I didn't want to rush it, so HERE we have a new chapter, hope it's alright. :)_

"Want a drink?" she offered once they were through the front door.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Thanks. What have you got?"

"Wine… wine… and WINE!" she smiled.

"Wine sounds good," he laughed.

He followed her into the kitchen and watched her pour the glasses, and then joined her on the couch a few minutes later.

"Thanks, Castle… for- you know, for being there today."

"No worries," he shrugged as if it was a moot point. "So…" he made himself comfortable and in the process he moved slightly closer to her, if she noticed she didn't say so, either that or she didn't care. "That was a pretty BIG reaction about Malcolm since, you… well, you aren't usually very forward about such matters," he observed.

"I didn't make a big deal of it," she denied. "And if you say otherwise I'm going to set Lanie on you," she threatened.

He grinned. "I wouldn't dream of it."

Beckett wagged her finger at him, and smiled lightly.

"You're beautiful when you smile," he stated. His face expression changed when the words came out of his mouth, and looked like he wanted to pop them straight back in.

Surprisingly Beckett laughed. "Is that line supposed to impress me?"

"No," he said. "Just a fact."

The two of them chatted for a while, talking about a case they were currently working on. Castle disagreed with Beckett on some of the details but all in all they thought it was the same person, a rare agreement between the duo.

Time passed, and glasses were emptied and filled again.

Laughter surrounded the room. Giggles ensued from comments made about criminals and thoughts in each mind. Beckett began to feel light-headed and her inhabitations lowered as she watched him with caution. Yeah, okay, so he was as good-looking as they come, strikingly handsome and charming just enough charisma to make it tolerable.

"What?" he asked watching her with the same intensity as she watched him with.

"I er… nothing," she denied.

He elbowed her playfully. "Spill… what's going on in that insane detective head of yours?"

She pretended to zip her lips and throw away the key.

Castle only grinned.

"You really like the dog huh?" he asked changing the subject.

"Yeah," she nodded. "He's pretty alright."

"Why is he so important?" his face was serious and his eyes knowing.

She answered him without thought. "Because he's a gift from you, if I lost yo- Mal, if I lost Mal I think I'd… is that stupid?" she seemed to blush.

"No," he said. "It's kinda nice actually."

She nodded and leaned back against the couch.

"I'm tired," she announced. "I think bed's in order."

"Great," he smiled standing up. "Where's the master bedroom?"

"You're not sleeping in the Master bedroom, Castle." She stood and looked down at the couch.

He got the picture. "Oh come on now…"

"Nope! And remember, my gun is loaded and if you walk through that door you'll be needing a body bag to get out of this apartment."

"Yeah, yeah," he looked disappointed. "I get the picture,"

"Night castle," she said staggering to her room.

"Yeah, night Kate!"

"Blankets are in the closet," she called over her shoulder. She closed the door behind her.

_The zip and key was UNKNOWN by my roommate. WHAT THE? Everyone knows that… right? I'm not insane, you all know what it is, RIGHT? Please help me regain my sanity by assuring me I am not ready for a straight jacket and a padded cell just yet? Press that review button and tell me you know what it is… and I'll send you another chapter. _


	26. Chapter 26

_A/N: The idea of going into the bedroom came from a fan I can't seem to find the name to… so if you are HER please inbox me and I'll apologize and then add you in my credits for the next chapter. But until then THANKS a bunch kiddo, but the rest is ALL mine, thanks to my imagination and those many, many TV shows that stimulate my brain._

_Happy reading :) _

He shifted positions again for the umpteenth time. He glanced at his watch in the dim light and sighed when he read the time: 2:08am. Sleep refused to claim him. He considered going into Beckett's room and waking her, he could do with some conversation.

After another half an hour of stilled silence, he dragged himself from the couch.

He pushed open the door to Beckett's bedroom and peered around the corner, wanting to make sure she was awake before he made a sound. The door creaked taking both Castle and Beckett by surprise. It happened in the course of mille-seconds. Beckett shot up in bed, startled awake, and pulled something from under her pillow.

It took him only a glimpse to realize that she had cocked her gun and aimed it at him.

"KATE!" he threw himself against the cupboard on the other side of the room, in hope that if she took a shot then she would have only got the door. He pulled himself upright against the wall and held up his hands in defense. "Calm down… it's JUST me!" he cried.

Beckett sighed as she realized where she was, and then glanced at the clock on her night table. "It's 2:30 in the morning, CASTLE! You moron, I couldn't killed you!"

"Nuh," he smiled with a self-assured shrug. "You love me too much."

She cocked her gun again and aimed in at him.

"Okay, okay…" he cried defensively cowering slightly. "You don't love me!"

She smiled looking pleased and lowered her firearm, before placing it on the night table.

"WHAT the hell are you doing in my room?" she snapped.

"I was thirsty," he lied as a way of explanation.

"What?" she rolled her eyes. "What did you think you'd find in my bedroom, you dill-head, A SINK?"

He shrugged again.

"GET OUT!" she ordered pointing to the door.

"In all defenses, you did kiss me after our date," he pointed out.

She frowned. "And that gives you the right to come into my room in the middle of the night?" she challenged. "Get real, Castle. GET OUT OF MY ROOM!"

"Nuh," he smiled. "I was bored. Can't sleep…"

"I don't care! GET OUT!"

It was then that he noticed she was dressed in a white silk negligee, he couldn't tear his eyes from her then, she was beautiful, like some dream he had conquered up in his mind. Yes, she was rather perfect in his eyes. If aiming a gun at him was the worst she had, then he wasn't bad off.

"STOP STARING AT ME!" she ordered pulling the blanket over her immodest body.

Castle only grinned.

He walked out a moment later, closing the door only an inch. "She wants me…" he mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

"DO NOT!" she denied.

Castle laughed as he returned to his place on the couch.

_Did you laugh? _

_Post a review and let me know… my impatience would LOVE that._


	27. Chapter 27

_A/N: It was I'm WIDGET who gave me the last idea… so THANK YOU, and while it was short, like ALL my chapters, that doesn't HAVE to be a bad thing. I update quicker and BIG things usually happen in every chapter, or it's at least funny. _

Beckett stirred to a noise heard in the kitchen, and rubbed her sleepy eyes.

Was it morning already?

She swung her legs over the side, and was reminded of a sudden flash from the night before. Had it been a dream? Or had Castle come into her room unannounced and see her in her lingerie? Damn! The later sounded like something that Castle might do, unless of course it ended with her NOT waking up alone.

Argh! She cursed herself for the thought and stood from the bed, to grab her white dressing gown before swinging it around her shoulders. She fixed her hair in the mirror, and added a touch of lip gloss, before stepping out of the room to greet Castle goodmorning.

He was hovering over the stove when she stepped out.

"Morning sleepyhead," he smiled over his shoulder. "Hungry?"

Beckett smiled shyly and approached him, standing closer than was totally necessary.

"Yeah," she nodded. "A little."

"I'm making pancakes, bacon and eggs and my VERY own specialty of omelets… you're choice," he smiled leaning over to kiss her cheek. She blushed. It certainly felt nice to have him here, to have him cooking breakfast. For the first time in years, she felt like she was worthy of attention, of a relationship that might actually GO somewhere.

"Mmm," she considered a choice.

"Coffee's ready," he said gesturing to the pot.

"You thought of everything," she grinned moving to the side to make pour herself a coffee. "Want one?" she offered.

"Yeah, thanks."

She set the coffee cups on the coffee table, where he had laid out knives and forks, and a single daisy in the place setting that was meant for her. She sat down and took the flower to her nose. It smelt heavenly.

"Like it?" he asked almost shyly.

Beckett nodded.

Castle finally lay down a plate in front of her, and then took his own chair.

"Do you always look this beautiful in the morning?" he beamed before taking a mouthful of pancakes.

"Do you always give these many compliments over breakfast?" she shot back.

"If you deserve it," he shrugged.

"I don't."

"Well, I guess this is my way of telling you I forgive you…"

"ME?" she cried defensively. "For what… what did I do?"

"For kicking me out of your room," he said simply.

Beckett almost laughed.

"I don't think so…" she finished her breakfast then without another word, and when she was done she carried her plate to the sink and rinsed it.

Castle joined her back in the kitchen a moment later, and wrapped his arms around her waist making her tense. "Good morning…"

"You said that already," she reminded him, as she held back the urge to turn her head and kiss him. He was waiting for it, she was sure of that as she was that sooner or later they'd be called into work for another case.

"I didn't hear you say it back," he replied.

Beckett wiggled her way out of his grasp and turned to leave the kitchen.

"I have to get ready to collect Mal," she smirked.

"No morning kiss," he pouted. "After EVRYTHING I DID!"

"I haven't brushed my teeth."

"YOU WANT ME!" he called as she closed the door behind her.

Beckett laughed as she pressed herself against the door. She wasn't sure that she knew how to handle feelings this strong, whatever it was, was powerful. But she cared too much about Castle now to back off, she knew that she would see this through, for better or worse, she was just cautious about moving TOO fast, TOO soon.

She showered and dressed in her on-suite, leaving Castle on his own, to roam the house, and tidy the kitchen. She smiled to herself as she thought about how much he did for her, how easy he made things on her. Yeah, he was a pretty good guy.

When she emerged from her bedroom, the kitchen was clean and Castle was sitting in the living room watching TV. She crossed the room, and he stood when she approached him.

She stepped inches from his face.

"Goodmorning, Castle…" she smiled.

He nodded. "Goodmorning, Kate!"

She softly pressed her lips to his, pulling her arms around his neck, there was no hesitation when he gripped her around the waist to pull her forward. His lips lingered on hers, and she could taste the pancakes he had made, loitering on his tongue.

Beckett withdrew first, almost shyly.

"I could get used to that," he said happily.

"NOT at work," she reminded him.

"Wouldn't dream of it," he took her by the hand and moved towards the door. "Come on… let's go get Mal."

Beckett bit her lip as she allowed him to drag her out of the apartment.

_*fingers crossed* hope this wasn't a disappointment. I don't REALLY do this romance stuff well, SORRY! But a review would be WELL APPRECIATED! I think I might have stopped bribing you for reviews… mmm, think you might have to work on PLAIN GOOD FAITH! :)_


	28. Chapter 28

_A/N: My roommate and I were bouncing ideas off each other, and she came up with this, and I couldn't help but crack up laughing at the idea… I hope the story is as funny as the idea. :)_

Beckett had just finished up the paperwork on a case file, when she picked up her little note pad. She looked up to see that no one was watching before she started doodling on the page. She never knew what possessed her to do it, but she was feeling like a giddy kid as she swirled the pen into the shape of a heart, before adding her name with Castle's, and a few words underneath. She smiled at the finished sketch.

Yeahp, she was losing it.

She heard footsteps, and quicker than lightening, she shoved the piece of paper out of view, and looked up to see Castle approaching her. _That could have been embarrassing_.

"You wanna go to dinner tonight?" he asked causally.

She hesitated. "Can't. Busy."

"Doing what?"

"Stuff…" she answered. In truth, she had nothing to do, but she was damned if she was going to let him pick her up for a date on a few hours notice. Nope, Kate Beckett had pride, if nothing else.

"Do you really have STUFF?" he asked titling his head, and looking more than adorable. She wanted to say yes, OH GOD, how she wanted to say yes. But Beckett knew where the night would lead, and she wasn't quite ready to take that step yet… soon, she was only human after all. But too soon was not an option.

"You'll never know," she teased.

He shrugged. "Fair enough. Can I call you tonight?"

Beckett smiled. "Maybe… if you have to."

Castle nodded. "I have to."

He walked away then, leaving her alone at the desk. She watched him a moment, admiring the way he held himself, as smile spread across her face.

"DETECTIVE!" Montgomery called.

She lifted her head to meet his eyes.

"Yes, sir?"

"I want that case file," he demanded.

She looked down and grabbed the file off the desk and handed it to him. "Complete."

"Good," he took it from his hands. He walked away without another word.

The day was drawing to a close when she was in the coffee room, chatting with Ryan. He and Esposito were going to a game, and asked if she wanted to come. She had declined.

"KATE!" the boss's voice boomed.

She jumped and turned around.

"A word… in private!"

Beckett looked at Ryan and shrugged before following him into the office.

"Sir… what-"

He didn't allow her to finish her sentence before thrusting a piece of paper at her. she looked down, and her mouth dropped to an O, before her cheeks flushed an embarrassing shade of red.

"Sir, I…"

"So you and castle are dating are you?" he demanded.

"I think so…" she answered in a shaky voice. _Oh God, how could I be so stupid?_

"You think so?" he mocked.

"Yes, sir, we are… but it's new. Nobody else knows."

"If this had made it to…" he shook his head.

She didn't even want to think about that. "I know, Sir. I was careless. I'm really sorry. It won't happen again."

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" he snapped.

"Do you know what this looks like?"

Beckett lowered her head.

"I can't have the two of you working together in this precinct, you know that…"

"But Sir, I- I swear our personal relationship never has a bearing on-"

He gestured to the piece of paper in her hand. "I find that hard to believe."

Beckett nodded. "It was stupid. I was just… messing around."

"You're serious about him?" he asked in that fatherly tone.

Beckett smiled. "Yes. But- but he doesn't know."

"About the, _**I LOVE YOU**_ either?" he asked.

"No," she shook her head. _What the hell had possessed me to write down on paper? ARGH! Stupid, Kate… stupid, stupid, stupid!_

He thought about it. "Alright, I'll let this one slide. NO MORE in my precinct on MY time, do you understand. You treat him the same way you always have!"

"I do, Sir… I promise."

"Fine. You're excused… and Kate?"

"Yes, Sir?"

"We were all waiting for it… congratulations. I think…" he said scratching his head.

Beckett smiled. "Thank you, Sir."

_Not how I wanted it to be… you know how you write and it doesn't always come out the way you think it will… OH WELL, hope you still like it? Reviews would be nice… I got a REALLY CUTE next few chapters… it's gonna be a doozy! :)_


	29. Chapter 29

_A/N: Another chapter up… sorry for the delay, I'm been crook. *holds stomach and groans in pain* hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy :)_

Castle stood by her desk, an irritated expression across his face.

She looked up to see him scratching his shoulder, then his back and arms.

"What's wrong with you, have you got fleas?" she teased.

He pulled a face.

"What's up?" she asked.

"I'm just…" he paused to scratch his leg.

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I think… I THINK I had a disagreement with some poison ivy, I feel like I'm dying."

She laughed. "Don't be so dramatic. But if that's the case, you should be home. Use Chamomile cream… and rest up!"

"I have things to do," he insisted.

"Not like that you won't," she said.

Castle looked around the precinct and back to Beckett.

"Castle, go home, I promise to call if anything amazing happens that you can use for your research."

"I don't wanna go home," he said in a childish whinny voice.

Beckett folded her arms across her chest and leaned back in her chair. "Do you always have to be a pain in the ass?"

He pretended to think about it. "Yes."

"Castle…"

"Kate, I HATE being stuck in bed," he scratched his stomach through his jumper.

"Mmmm, maybe you are sick, you didn't even use that reference in a perverted way," she pointed out. "I'm impressed, and to be honest, I little worried that you might be dying."

"NOT funny," he snapped. He didn't see the humor in this situation.

"Relax, I'm kidding. You won't die from poison ivy. But you will leave scars all over your body if you keep doing that," she scolded. "GO home Castle!"

Castle pouted.

"I can see that this has made you all the more mature."

Montgomery was watching the scene from the break room, and stepped out into view.

"I think you should listen to Detective Beckett," he told Castle.

Castle shot him a look.

"Thank you, Sir," she smiled cockily at the writer-boy.

"Don't get all high and mighty," Montgomery smirked. "You'll be taking him home and watching him. The boy needs to be taken care of…"

"Are you serious?" she cried. "SIR! He has a mother and a daughter."

"Alexis has a social life, and a lot of study, and Castle's mother… has better things to do!"

"Sir you can't really be-"

"It's an order!" he said sternly.

Beckett rolled her eyes as the Boss walked away.

"You have to take care of me…" Castle grinned.

She stood from her desk and swung her jacket over her shoulders. "SHUT UP!" she barked, she pulled him y the arm and dragged him out. "Don't think I'm going to be nice to you…"

"You're house or mine?" he asked.

"MINE!"

_Hahahahaha… bet you all can't wait to find out what happens next… me neither, but I'm working on it. It's gonna be a doozey, in the meantime you can keep me inspired by your reviews… TA! :)_


	30. Chapter 30

_A/N: Sorry this has taken SO long to get to you, hope it was worth the wait. Enjoy :)_

"Stop that!" Beckett scolded as he sat in her double bed, in the master bedroom, scratching any single place on his body that he could get to.

She hadn't the luxuries that he possessed which came with fame and success. She only had one bedroom, and a couch, and while Castle was sick, she couldn't very well throw him on the couch. Besides, it wasn't like she wasn't going to be changing the sheets as long as he was out the door.

"I can't help it," he groaned. "It itches."

"Alright," she reasoned. "STOP itching or you're going to end up with scars. And as a brilliant well-known writer you don't want to come out of this with marks all over your face, do you?"

He looked up and smiled. "You think I'm brilliant?"

"You think you are," she responded quickly. _Damn, that was close_.

Castle frowned and returned to dragging his nails across his irritated skin.

"STOP IT!" she barked, taking old of his wrists.

"It hurts," he pouted folding his hands together. "This calamine lotion isn't doing ANYTHING!"

"I will run you a bath. You can soak in that… and then slather yourself with Zinc Oxide. I think I have some around here some place," her eyes darted around the room and to the medicine cupboard. Maybe she'd left it in there… "I'll look for it while you're soaking in the tub!" she said more to herself than to him.

It took a while for Beckett to sort out the bath tub, and organize the Zinc and once she did, Castle looked close to putting a bullet in his head. His irritation level was next to zero. She tested the water with her hand one more time and then called Castle into the bathroom.

"Are you staying?" he grinned pulling the shirt gently from his back.

She tried not to stare.

"Um… no," she smiled. "You must be feeling better."

"No," he pouted. "But I might if you stay with me."

"Nice try," she grinned. "I have to check on Mal…"

She closed the door behind him as he began to strip down to his boxer shorts. She would have watched him for a while longer, if she'd been an invisible fly on the wall.

_I know I'm evil, for making it so short. I'm sorry. Really. But I have SO many things to do, and if it wasn't short, who knows how much longer you'd be waiting. I hope you liked it. Reviews are nice friends… and good reasons to update faster. :0_


	31. Chapter 31

_A/N: Yeahp… this is coming to an end, but you are going to LOVE it, I promise. I also thought you all deserved a long chapter, so it's pretty long for me. As for reviews, I want my inbox crowded… please! *MALCOLM puppy face*_

Castle lay in bed feeling the boredom creep over him. He was sick and tired of being in bed. The bath had helped somewhat and he was not obsessed with clawing his body to kill the itch. He was just plain old bored. He sat up in the double bed and looked around the room. It was a nice room, something he might have picked for his own, with chocolate brown walls and cream colored skirting boards. There was a picture of flowers on one wall, and the Mediterranean on the other. Other than that, it was a bare room, with a side table and a plain brown wardrobe.

He leaned over and opened the top drawer of the side table. There were no surprise items in there it seemed the average womanly items, a hair brush… items of make-up… her wallet… a gun strap… and a diary- A DIARY?

His eyes widened as he took the leather bound book in his hands, his fingers running over the word JOURNAL on the bottom right hand corner. He opened it, as his curiosity won over as he shortly contemplated the idea of being caught by Beckett. Was it worth it, to see the inner workings of her mind, first-hand… HELL YES!

He turned the page, his eyes scanning across the words.

_**Journal, **_

_**I met Richard Castle today. Boy! The arrogance of that man is infuriating… he is so damn egotistical. He could drop himself into the Grand Canyon and still be halfway out. He's like a nine-year old on a sugar rush, and is immaturity level is disturbing. But he sure has something… I'm not sure what it is, but I like it. I think… damn, it's confusing me. I don't think I've been attracted to a man this way since… well, ever. It's different. It's almost exciting. **_

_**He gave me his latest book today, and signed it, which was sweet in itself, and then he kissed me… granted it was on the cheek, but the many times I had fantasized about it, when I stood waiting in lines at the bookstore for an autograph for hours, he never saw me as anything other than another face in the crowd. But now, he looked at me like a prize on a gaming shelf. I'm not sure what I like better. Only that he actually looked at me, like I was a person. **_

_**God, I sound like a school girl, it's pathetic. **_

_**He spoke to Montgomery and he has insisted that he needs to spend months with me… it seems he thinks I would be a perfect candidate for a series of books. ARGH! I'm not sure my tolerance level is high enough to have to face him day after day for months on end. But at least he's not bad eye candy, not that the man needs more of an ego boost.**_

_**I guess tomorrow will be a new day… I'll keep you posted. **_

Castle sat back grinning to himself, with his arms folded. Kate Beckett thought he was HOT! She had waited in line to receive autographs before they'd even met. He wondered why he had never noticed her in a crowd before. She was beautiful, she was more than that, but he couldn't remember ever meeting her before the issue with his copy-cat and his book.

He turned the page and looked at the next entry, and the next, and the next, and over the next 30 pages he discovered that her feelings were beginning to take a new turn.

_**Journal, **_

_**I heard about Rick's new offer. It seems he has been chosen to write a series of books for a lot of money, meaning that he would have to leave New York, leave the precinct… leave me. I know I never told him enough, but I LIKE having him around. I like having him baiting me, and challenging me, and testing me and pressing me to my limits. He's the only one I would ever allow to get away with it, without literally hauling his ass into jail. **_

_**I know I don't show my emotions. I can't… but if he left. I'm not sure how well I'd go with that, if I'm truly honest with myself, I think I'd fall into a heap. God, I'm such a girl deep down, I give the illusion that I'm one of the guys, but I'm not, not really! **_

He read the next entry.

_**Journal, **_

_**He made a decision. He's staying!**_

_**I can't seem to wipe the smile from my face… I feel like I'm floating on a cloud of ecstasy. :D**_

He grinned cheekily as he turned the next page, hungry for more.

_**Journal, **_

_**I watched Rick's face when I announced that Demming and I were together. His face seemed to show some expression of hurt. It worried me. I never wanted to hurt him, I hate the look on his face when I do, and I just wanted to protect myself. I don't deal well with heartache, and Rick is the type of person to walk away, he's been married more than once, what kind of person marries that many times without being one to give up so quickly? **_

_**How can I want someone like him, and risk the chance of being hurt… he'd walk away, he'd give up on me. I can't do that to myself. I want to… whenever I'm with Demming I just can't seem to focus on anything else but Rick. How he feels about it, how he feels about me. It's pathetic I know, but I think sometimes I might even… No, it's not possible. I'm not that stupid, am I?**_

Had she really been that smitten with him? How had he NOT noticed that? How had he seen her everyday and not known the changes going on inside her heart, how had he been so oblivious to that when she was with Demming?

_Because you were jealous, you fool!_

_**Journal, **_

_**I feel sick. **_

_**I watched that bastard walk away from me today with that stupid woman he once married, GINA. I wanted to scream at him; instead I stupidly asked if I'd see him in the Fall. God, I was pathetic. He had the nerve to invite me to the Hamptons and when I turned him down, he invited HER! I'm SO angry with him, and myself, for ever allowing my emotions to get the better of me. I made a mistake. I don't know how to stop feeling these things for him now… **_

_**I can't believe I was stupid enough to end my relationship with Demming for him, and think that Rick cared enough to wait a few hours before inviting someone else to take my place. I am SO stupid! I would have gone with him. I would have done anything he asked me to do… no matter what it was. I would have told him how I felt, maybe, if he'd asked. I'd marry the damn man if that's what he wanted. I can only imagine what plans he would have had for us, what he wanted to do with the time spent up there. He's a male, and he never fails to spill what's on his mind. **_

_**Now, I'm only tortured with the images of he and Gina… the lucky woman will have his every bit of attention now, and I'll be here all Summer… waiting, hoping and feeling regret for not making choices sooner than now. **_

Castle felt a stab of both disappointment and excitement. Had she actually ended things with Demming in hope to take the place of his companion in the Hamptons? He wondered if she would ever bring herself to take a chance with him? Yes, he told himself, she had accepted a date and he was currently residing in her bedroom. That had to be something in itself. She was slowly making her way towards trusting him, despite her fear, and he wasn't complaining.

He shifted on the bed, and turned the page.

There were two entries left, and he couldn't help himself.

_**Journal, **_

_**I feel lost. I don't remember ever feeling this low, not even when my mother died did I feel this lost and hopeless. At least then I knew it was the bastard that killed mom who was at fault and not mine. I feel numb, and sad, and angry… I feel so many emotions at the same time that it's overwhelming. I haven't slept in days, though it feels like weeks. **_

_**I hate eating. I never feel hungry anymore. I just want Rick back… I know he's the cause of all this. I know it would all go away, if I saw him. If he baited me again, teased me, annoyed me, I'd welcome anything that he had. Everyone at the precinct knows the changes, and they are being incredibly understanding. They kept throwing words of encouragement at me, telling me that it will get better, Rick's an idiot to walk away from me, that I'll get over it in time and I just need to hang in there. Lanie is trying so hard to get me out of the house, but I just don't want to do anything, but work and sleep, sleep sounds good right now.**_

_**Does he miss me… I keep thinking about it. I keep thinking about how many times he and Gina have shared the same bed? How many times she has pressed his lips to hers, and it wasn't me! **_

_**I want to sleep… but I just end up lying there. The circles under my eyes are as deep as the hole in the Grand Canyon. My face is pale and I don't care about anything. I just want him back, diary, do you think he'll bother to come back from the Hamptons or will that stupid troll end up stealing him away for good. And if she does, where does that leave me?**_

Now it was Castle's turn to feel sick.

The smeared page did not go unnoticed by Castle. He could have sworn they were stained from tears, and he hated himself for ever making her feel that way.

He wasn't sure he was prepared for the final entry, but he gave it a shot.

_**Journal, **_

_**He's back from the Hamptons! **_

_**All this time, and I still find that my heart explodes in my chest at the mere sight of him. He's mesmerizing and beautiful, and… oh God, I'm pathetic. All the past months emotions have seemed to disappear. I feel new and refresh, but I'm also afraid. I couldn't say anything to him, at least not right away. He attempted to make a joke about him being invisible… he's certainly not that. I was cold to him, I couldn't help it, I was afraid that if I didn't hold up my defenses I would wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. All the dreams I've been clouded with, I just wanted to know what it felt like, but I knew I wasn't thinking rationally, thank God I didn't make a fool of myself.**_

_**As far as I know he could be have gotten married again. **_

_**I'm so afraid to ask him all the questions I've been pondering. How were the Hamptons… did he sleep with Gina… I'm an idiot to think he didn't, but a small part of me still hopes… did he miss me? Would I be insane to ask that? **_

_**Yes. I would. **_

_**I feel like my heart is being literally ripped in pieces… I just want it go away. I'm afraid to write it, in case someone ever read it but… I love him, I am deeply in love with him, and I want him more than I've ever wanted anything in all my life. Now I'm afraid that I'll never get to tell him that, I'm afraid that I'll go through life feeling this way always… and he'll never know, and I'll never get him. **_

He climbed off the bed, and waltzed over to the door. He had to talk to her about it. He couldn't leave this open the way it was, she had to know that he could be trusted, that he would never hurt her, that he grown to love her, more than she would ever know. He would have walked through fiery coals to prove his point.

He found her on the couch.

She looked up from her book – one of his – and smiled weakly. "Feeling better?"

He held her journal in his hands, and raised it slightly to draw attention to it.

Her face seemed to drain of color. "You… you read that?"

He nodded shamefully. "I did."

She looked away, both angry and mortified.

"Kate…"

"Get out of my view Castle," she warned.

"Kate, I want to talk about this," he pressed.

She shook her head. "You don't want to be anywhere near me right now, Castle. You will find that the other end of my anger is NOT a happy place. Go back to bed, and leave me alone…" her tone was cold but low.

He didn't move.

She stood from the couch and crossed the room to him, her hands clenched into fists, her anger blazing. She was beyond angry, she was seething. Her only defense was attack, and she came at him with flying fists. He struggled to grab her wrists in defense, to stop her striking, but it took time. She got in a few good punches first.

Among all the commotion, the K-9 heard the crisis and came running to Beckett's aid. Barking viciously at Caste, who didn't seem the least bit concerned if he was bitten or not.

When he did finally grab her wrists, and look at her, she had tears brimming in her eyes. She stopped fighting, and he drew her against his chest, holding her as she let out a few sniffles and a short sob, before she pulled herself together long enough to look at him.

"You had NO right to do that," she spat.

"I know," he nodded in agreement. But he didn't regret it. He couldn't, now that he knew the truth, now that he knew all the things that really went on inside her head. But he was sorry he hurt her, and that she was now angry with him. "I'm sorry, Kate."

He tucked a strand of hair behind her ears and took the chance to kiss her.

She responded to him, and brought her hands around his neck, gripping the material of his shirt in her hands, holding him as if she were afraid if she let go, he'd disappear. He broke away first, and saw the dog wagging his tail as he sat patiently by their feet.

"What will we do with Mal?" he asked as a wide smile spread across his face.

"What do you mean?" she frowned.

"I mean when we get married," he shrugged casually. He wanted to marry her, and after reading her diary, he figured it wasn't all that farfetched.

"What? We are NOT getting married Rick!" she turned away from him.

He grinned and waited for her to look back.

"What?" she demanded, clearly suspicious of his expression.

He nodded to himself. He had her right where he wanted her. "You called me Rick," he observed. "You love me…"

"I never said I didn't," she shot back.

It took a moment for the words to sink in. She wasn't denying it, and that was better than a good sign, it was practically admitting she did. He nodded looking overly pleased with himself. "You love me."

"What's the point?" she folded her arms across her chest.

"The point is, I have Alexis and my mother, and my house is MUCH bugger to accommodate a lot of people and I figure that since it's just you and Mal, you might as well live with me…"

"I never said I'd marry you…" she stated.

"Why not?" he wasn't disappointed yet, there was too much unresolved.

"You never asked me," she smiled.

"Okay, marry me?"

"NO!"

"Why not?" he frowned.

"Because I want it to be memorable," she said.

"Really…"

"Yes really."

"I never would have thought you to be the traditional type."

"You're a romantic Castle, I expect the best, I will only getting married once. You have to make it count."

"Alright," he pondered. "If I do it right, will you marry me?"

Beckett shrugged.

"Is that a yes?"

"Depends,"

"On what?" he was willing to comply.

"On how it's done. I want a hundred percent perfect proposal."

"I'm an author of mystery books, not a poet," he pointed out.

"Got that," she noted. "Take it… or leave it…" she teased.

He grabbed her and pulled her into his arms, and remembered the entries that told him what her concerns were. "Despite the number of times I have been married, I will NOT walk away from you, you are far too important, and just to set matters straight, I did not give up easily on any of those marriages, and I'll fight even harder for ours. I love you Kate Beckett and your little dog too…"

He laughed at his own joke, and when she was sure he wasn't looking a smile passed her lips, as she envisioned a beach wedding bare feet, and a long silk white dress.

Mrs. Richard Castle… Mrs. Kate Castle… Detective Kate Beckett-Castle…

It didn't sound so bad.

This time, she leaned in and pressed her lips to his in reply to his comments.

_THANK YOU all for following through with this story, I'm proud to have such loyal readers!_

_Come on now, I deserve the reviews, right? This falls under the Good Samaritan category… start clicking that review button. :D_


End file.
